Enclosure
by LilyoftheValley4
Summary: A man turns himself in for raping two woman, with the intention of getting close to Olivia. His actions end up putting the precinct under house arrest and everyone inside in danger.
1. Walkin

A/N: Rated for violence, language, and adult situations, but don't let that stop you from reviewing. Next chapters will be a lot longer!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters created by the producers of this show.

Enclosure 

"Shit!" Olivia Benson said as she somehow maneuvered the Styrofoam cup of coffee from her left hand to her right. Almost instantly, the boiling drips of coffee began to cool, but her hand continued to have a harsh red welt from where the coffee had fallen. Olivia made a frustrated attempt to shake her hand dry before giving up and returning the damp cup back to its original hand.

As she walked down the sidewalk, the doors to the precinct came into sight. Since her hands were full, Olivia used the full weight of her back against the door to get one last glance of sunlight before going inside. She was soon greeted by what could only be described as a maze covered in overgrowth. At least a dozen desks were spread out across the floor, divided by aisle ways that forced even Olivia's slim figure to turn sideways as she maneuvered past those desks littered in papers.

She quickly set down the coffee in her left hand on her partner's desk, wiping her hand on her black slacks as she circled around to her own desk.

"Mmm," her partner, Elliot Stabler said as he took the lid off his coffee smelt it. "Black. Thanks." He took a sip of it and then set it back down on his desk. He looked good this morning. He was wearing a blue collared shirt and navy slacks with a navy tie to match. His hair rested in its normal short and orderly cut that complimented his long forehead.

"You owe me for that one. It burned me good on the way over here," Olivia said taking a seat at the desk and starting to riffle through the assorted papers on it.

"You know some people sue for that," Elliot pointed out with a grin.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Only greedy people who pretend they don't know coffee is supposed to be hot."

"Did _you_ forget that it's hot?" Elliot asked pointedly.

Olivia stopped shuffling through her papers long enough to glare and Elliot leaned back in his chair grinning, satisfied with her response. After searching through the papers on her desk Olivia was relieved to see that there weren't any new cases on her desk, though she knew she had to finish up some paper work on one of her previous cases.

"Any word from Cap?" Olivia asked before she decided to get comfortable.

"Nah, looks like a slow day," Elliot said, picking up one of the manila folders on his desk and opening it.

"Good," Olivia said as she picked up a pen and started writing. She was only a few minutes into her debrief however, before Fin made his way over to her desk.

"Olivia." Olivia looked up at him as he called her name.

"Morning, Fin, what's up?" Elliot greeted. Fin nodded his response.

"I got a question for you," Fin said turning his attention back to Olivia. "Do you know a Robert Michaels?"

Olivia thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, the name doesn't sound familiar. Why?"

"There's a man who just turned himself in. Said he raped and killed two women." Olivia's brow furrowed and she looked over at Elliot, confusion mirrored on his face.

"I've got Munch running a check on him now, but the guy refuses to say any more."

"Then why'd he go through all the trouble to turn himself in?" Elliot asked.

Fin's eyes rested uncomfortably on her. "He says he'll only talk to Olivia."


	2. Confessions

A/N: Wow, I didn't expect so much positive feedback! I'm glad you all like my story and I hope that this chapter keeps that positive energy coming!

Chapter 2

The confusion in Olivia's eyes at such a statement was evident. "How the hell does he know who I am?" Olivia asked standing up.

"I don't know, as I said, we're still running a check on him," Fin repeated.

"I may know why we don't have any answers," Detective Munch said approaching the group. "Fake name. I checked the driver's licenses of over a dozen people by the name of Robert Michaels, and none of their descriptions matches our guy."

"What room's he in?" Olivia demanded, looking frustrated by their lack of answers.

"Three," Fin spoke up.

"If the only way we'll get answers to our questions is if I talk to him, then so be it." Olivia turned away from the guys and headed into the depths of the station where the interrogation rooms were kept. She could hear Elliot following close behind, but she didn't say anything to him. Thirty seconds later, she reached the one-way mirror to interrogation room three.

Elliot took a few minutes to study the man before shifting his gaze to Olivia in order to gauge her reaction. The man's blonde hair was chopped close to his head in a typical military haircut. He sat however, without any regard for a military uniform in blue jeans and a casual gray polo shirt.

From her position, the man's looks did not light any memories of recognition, but her initial impression of him was not that of a typical rapist. Olivia Benson however, had learned a long time ago how in accurate appearances were to the representation of a person's character.

"I'm going in there," Olivia said turning towards the door.

"I'll go with you," Elliot said following her. Olivia didn't know how strict this guy was going to be about his request, but for the moment, she welcomed Elliot's company.

The man looked up at her expectantly as she entered the room, analyzing her every move. As Elliot entered the room he seemed to frown slightly but didn't say anything in response.

"Olivia Benson," he spoke up, sizing her up.

Olivia responded with a look of her own as she circled around him, her arms crossed against her chest. "You seem to know my name. How about you tell us yours?"

"Quick on the uptake, aren't you?" the man said with a smile. "Well I'll inform you now, you won't find me in your system. Never even had a parking ticket."

"So why does a man with such a perfect record turn himself in for a crime we weren't even aware you committed?" Elliot asked. "Don't tell me you've suddenly decided to turn to the dark side."

The man narrowed his eyes at Elliot while speaking to Olivia. "I would suggest that you escort your partner out of the room, Olivia. As I told the other two detectives, I only want the honor of speaking with you."

Elliot's eyes met Olivia's and Olivia gave her partner a slight nod. Elliot didn't like this situation at all, but he didn't have a choice. When Olivia had set her mind to something, there wasn't anything Elliot could do to change it. With one last glare at the man, Elliot opened the door and left, finding room between Munch and Fin to watch and listen to the conversation.

"We've met your terms, now start giving us some answers." The man slowly put his hands on the table and stared at them for a few seconds. A lop-sided grin now remained on his face taking away from his initial innocent appearance.

"15." He began. "15 years I served for my country. Ever since I was eighteen. I joined the Marines straight out of high school. I saw my friends die in Iraq and Afghanistan. I looked forward to going home, seeing my happy family.

"I came home for Christmas one year and found out that my mother had been raped and killed the previous summer and now my father was sitting in jail for her murder. Why? His semen was all that was found in her. Do you remember that case, Olivia? You after all found the evidence against him. You do realize, Detective, that married couples are allowed to have sex, don't you?"

Olivia's brow furrowed in remembrance. "As I recall, your father had a hard time verifying his whereabouts the night of the murder. Any other detective would have played it the same way."

"I don't like this," Elliot said as he watched. "If he raped those two women for revenge, why did he decide to turn himself in?"

"It could have been an anger problem," Fin replied. "Not knowing how it went down, the guy could have taken his temper out on his latest fling and then was taken with guilt."

"Maybe," Elliot replied doubtfully. "Munch, see if you can locate this case. Check the last twenty years with a similar cause of death."

"I'm on it," Munch said leaving as the other two turned back to the window. Some time during the conversation, Olivia had taken a seat at the table directly across from the man with her elbows resting on the table.

"You want to know what made my case so special?" the man spat. "My mother's rape wasn't the only one. The same bastard came back and raped my sister."

"There was no proof that it was the same man," Olivia said in full memory of the case now. "As far as the state was concerned your father was the one who committed the first rape and he was in jail during the second one."

"I don't give a rat's ass what the state thinks. My father was innocent."

"Your mother had a $750,000 life insurance claim following your father's lay-off that made him a potential suspect."

"He loved her!" the man shouted, pounding his fist on the table as he spoke. There was a long moment of silence as the man showed an effort to settle down. "He killed himself because he loved her and the state did everything in their power to see that his last memories of her could spend no more than ten minutes with him once every other week while the real rapist ran free."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but that's not what happened. Your father raped and killed your mother. Your sister's rape was an unfortunate coincidence," Olivia reasoned. "The rapist didn't even use the same MO as with your mother."

"Do you honestly believe that, Detective?" the man asked. "Do you honestly believe it was all a coincidence? Occum's Razor," he said quietly, "says the simplest explanation is the most reasonable. So what is more likely? The same person raped my mother and sister and my father was innocent, or two different people raped them?"

Olivia didn't answer. Following the mother's murder, Olivia remembered being convinced that the father had done it. After all, he had no alibi, he had been the last one to see his wife alive, and he had a motive. Though his suicide had been surprising, Olivia began to have her doubts when the man's sister had been raped. She knew as well as he did that his scenario made more sense, but she wasn't willing to admit she had made a mistake when the evidence had been so supportive to her argument. She found herself looking deeply into his light blue eyes that were filled with pain and bitterness. So cold, that they made her shudder slightly.

"Tell me about the two women you raped," Olivia finally said, hoping to make progress with this man rather than reminisce on her past cases.

"That, you'll have to solve for yourself, Detective," the man said leaning back in his chair.

Olivia began to become angry. "I didn't come in here to be screwed around with. If you have information to give me than I suggest you give it."

"You have twenty-four hours to present evidence for my confession before you're forced to let me go," the man said smirking once again.

"Why did you confess if you didn't want us to book you?" Olivia demanded.

"For reasons you will discover in time."

"I'm outta here," Olivia said heading for the door. Just as she placed her hand on the doorknob, the man's voice made her stop.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Olivia stopped but didn't turn around. "Before I was honorably discharged, my expertise in the Marines was bombs. I think it's my duty to inform you that every door within the precinct, including the one you're holding, Detective, is rigged to explode."


	3. Losing the Key

**A/N**: Wow, I'm really surprised and happy with all the reviews! One of the biggest questions I got was how he did it and don't worry, that'll be explained later. In the meantime, enjoy the story and keep reviewing. Every single one of you is awesome!

Chapter 3 

Elliot froze in his position behind the mirror. His eyes went wide and were focused on the scene before him. His hands were calmly at his sides. The idea that this man had rigged all the doors in the precinct seemed implausible. He knew that it was likely the man could be bluffing, but the self-assured smile on his face and the way Olivia had frozen with her hand on the door had caused Elliot to take the threat seriously. If what the guy was saying was true, Olivia was only a few seconds away from death. Elliot, however, wasn't willing to find out the truth through Olivia.

"You think this psycho is telling the truth?" Munch asked.

"It's a chance we can't take. Go tell the Captain what's going on. Fin, make sure no one leaves the building until we figure out what the hell is going on," Elliot ordered before turning back to watch Olivia and the man talk. Elliot felt himself shiver. If this guy was telling the truth, then Olivia was his prisoner, and there would be nothing they could do to get her out.

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Olivia couldn't take her hand off the doorknob. It was crazy to believe this guy had rigged every door, but then again, she really didn't want to be blown to pieces trying to figure it out. Instead, she felt that until she could verify the situation, she would at least try to get as much info out of the guy as possible, so that Elliot or anyone else watching, may be able to figure out how to get her out of this situation.

Olivia released her grip on the door and turned to face him. His face was smug. He knew he had full control of the situation, but he was casually waiting for Olivia to make the next move.

"How do I know what you're saying is true?" Olivia demanded.

"You don't," he answered back, but the desire to brag always makes criminals apt to tell more than they should. "But I assure you it's true."

"How can you assure me it's true? I walked into the building this morning without any problems," Olivia pointed out.

"They're remote censored. As soon as I saw you going for the door I armed ever bomb in the precinct. I have the ability to make all of them go off simultaneously, or, I can make any bomb go off one-at-a-time." Olivia filled with fear. If he really had this ability, he could blow up the whole office with one push off a button. As long as she was in here with him, she would do everything she could to prevent that from happening, but she knew that the Captain would need proof. Cragen could not act without some reliable proof of the man's accusations.

"If what you're saying is true, let me see the remote," Olivia said slowly. The man lifted his handcuffed hands onto the table and leaned forward so that he could be assured that she would hear every word he said.

His voice dropped low so his words almost sounded fatherly. Instead of being comforted, Olivia felt a coldness spread through her body that she couldn't shake away. "Ah, ah, ah, Olivia. That's not how we play this game." He stared into her eyes for a moment longer while leaning across the table before he settled back into the chair. He however, left his hands on the table. "What you are going to do is take the cuffs off my hands."

Olivia looked down at his cuffed hands and shook her head. "I'm not authorized to do that." Actually, Olivia did have the power to do that, but seeing as how the handcuffs were Olivia's only advantage to this tall and buff ex-Marine, Olivia intended to keep it. "And I don't have the key."

"Well, I suggest you get the key, Detective, or I'll get you that proof you wanted." Olivia was torn. She didn't want to be responsible for hurting anyone in the precinct, but she also didn't want to be stuck in the vicinity of a madman who could do anything he wanted to her if his hands were un-cuffed. However, she felt endangering her life was a small price to pay if she could just spare the time to get everyone out of the precinct alive.

Olivia walked with as much confidence as she could to the one-way mirror. Elliot saw every detail of her face as she looked blindly into the mirror before her eyes blankly rested on him. He could see that she was scared, and he wanted nothing more than to reach through the mirror and pull her into his arms, but he couldn't. The glass was bullet proof for the protection of the detectives and the prisoner. Olivia was stuck in there.

Olivia got up as close to the mirror as she could. She kept her voice as quiet as she could. She whispered across the mirror in hope that someone was there and could hear her. At first, her words were unclear to Elliot, but she repeated them three times at varying volumes to be sure that someone could hear her.

"Gregory Morgan," is the name Elliot finally heard her whisper. Elliot figured that that was the name of the guy in the room. If he was right and he didn't have a rep sheet, at least it would be easier for Munch to track down his case file.

"Ask for the key now, Detective!" Gregory said angrily. He was getting suspicious of the length of time Olivia had gone without speaking.

"In order to give me the key, they must be able to come through the door," Olivia called over her shoulder. Elliot smiled. _Way to go, Liv_. Elliot didn't know whether the guy would by it, but it was worth a try.

"Nice try, Detective," Morgan said with a chuckle, "but I think the key is big enough to fit _under_ the door, don't you?" Elliot's smile quickly faded. This guy wasn't stupid, but then again, Elliot probably should have guessed from his ability to rig the precinct without any of them knowing.

"Pass me the key under the door," Olivia requested loud enough for Morgan to hear her.

"That a girl," Morgan encouraged as Olivia walked over to the door and waited for the silver key to appear. Elliot pulled the standard issue key for the cuffs out of his pocket and looked at it. Olivia depended on the absence of the key in order to survive. Morgan could kill her and Elliot or anybody else in the precinct and they wouldn't be able to stop him if Elliot were to give up that key.

Elliot looked back into the room. Olivia remained standing at the door while Morgan seemed to be watching all her actions like a hawk.

"You better tell your detective friends to hurry up," Morgan said suggestively to Olivia.

"I can't even verify they're out there," Olivia responded.

"For the sake of the other people in this precinct, you better hope they're out there," Morgan said, more as a threat to anyone who could be listening rather than to Olivia. Elliot felt his anger mount. _Maybe this is the way to play it. Pretend no one is listening. It could be the only way to keep Olivia safe_, Elliot thought. _But it's also the way to get the rest of us killed,_ another part of his brain reminded him.

"Elliot! What the hell is going on here?" Captain Donald Cragen demanded. "I've got Munch telling me that a guy turned himself in for rape and somehow managed to put bombs around the whole precinct."

"That's the perp," Elliot said, pointing at Morgan through the window.

"What's Olivia doing in there by herself?" Cragen asked.

"His name's Gregory Morgan. He's an ex-Marine and an old case of Olivia's. He asked specifically for her when he turned himself in," Elliot explained.

"What about the bombs? Have they been verified?"

"No, but they might be soon. He's requested he be un-cuffed and Olivia needs the key."

"Is there anyway to get her out of there?"

Elliot felt himself looking down at his shoes. "For the moment, no." Cragen looked at Elliot in disbelief before glancing back at Olivia and snapping into action.

"Elliot, get on the phone with the NYPD and tell them the situation. Request a bomb squad be present immediately. Munch, get me everything you can find on this Gregory Morgan. I want to know everything, girlfriends, medical history, service time, etc… Someone needs to get Huang's ass down here so we can figure out what we're dealing with. I'll put the precinct on alert." Cragen concluded.

"Sir, Olivia…" Elliot pointed out.

"We're not going to leave her, Elliot," Cragen said softly. "But we need to get these things taken care of. As soon as you make your call, I want you back here, that's an order." Elliot nodded, but both of them knew that it really wasn't an order. Both of them that in mind anyway.

"And the key?" Elliot asked.

Cragen's eyes narrowed in determination. "He's not getting the fucking key."

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Olivia looked under the doorway for the key once more before walking back over to the table. "No one's out there." Olivia stated matter-of-factly.

"Bull shit," Morgan said turning angry. "They're out there, but they're not giving me the key. Fine, they want to play, we'll play." Olivia watched as his hands made their way towards the pocket of his pants where Olivia could make-out the indentations of buttons creating a rectangular shape on the outside of his pants. The buttons seemed to be in rows of four-by-four.

His right pointer finger reached out to push one of the buttons just Olivia took the initiative and tackled him. The force brought the two of them and the chair crashing to the ground. Olivia was careful not to allow him or her to land on his right side and consequently push the button.

As he lay there momentarily stunned, Olivia reached for the pocket. She felt her hand close around the edge of the remote when Morgan seemed to recover from the attack. His position on his left side allowed him an open shot to Olivia's face despite the fact his hands were cuffed. Olivia reeled back from the hit, loosing her grip on the remote. Before Olivia could react, Morgan jumped on her, his legs straddling her body. She gasped as a rush of air was expelled from her lungs when he sat on her. Before catching her breath, he brought the chain that separated the two cuffs across her neck and pulled it tight.

Olivia brought her arms up from her sides and put them in front of her so that she was resting on her elbows as she struggled to pull the chain from her neck with her hands.

"That was stupid, Olivia," he hissed into her ear as gave a harsh jerk of the chain. Olivia could only let out a strangled gasp. Her breathing was rushed and shallow even to her own her ears as she struggled. "You know, this is nothing compared to the pain I've felt. Consider yourself lucky." He gave one last hard yank before releasing the chain and getting up off her body. Olivia let of a round of coughing as an unexpected rush of air began to fill her lungs.

"Attention all members of the Special Victims Unit." Through her coughing, Olivia could make out the familiar voice of Captain Cragen. Morgan's voice turned up towards the loudspeaker in the room. He smiled seeming genuinely amused by Cragen's words. "It's imperative that all of you do exactly as I instruct. A situation has arisen and as a result no one is allowed to enter or leave the building until further notice. We have reason to believe bombs may have been placed on doors throughout the precinct. If you are inside an office or restroom, you will have to remain there until we have declared that door safe. No one is to attempt to disarm any of these bombs if sighted. I repeat, no one is to attempt to leave the building at this time. That is all."

Morgan laughed. "Well, I'm glad your boss is taking me seriously, but I don't know if everyone else here really believes him. I think we should make sure they do."

Once again, Morgan reached down to the right pocket of his pants. Olivia watched his fingers tread lightly over the buttons until he apparently found one he liked. Olivia struggled to catch her breath and obtain the energy she would need for another attack but without success. She watched in horror as his smile brightened and his face lit up in anticipation. His finger made only the slightest movement before the ground of the precinct shook and an explosion was heard. In a manner of seconds, the explosion was muffled by screams.


	4. Unlocking Kiss

**A/N**: Does a little dance All of you people are wonderful! Amazing! I never expected so many reviews. Even the amount of hits I've gotten is surprising me! I'm so glad you all are enjoying it. All of you have such a good record up to this point; I don't want it to stop! I'll do my best to update as regularly as I can, so please don't give up hope! Once again, thank you!

**Zephyr**: I tried to describe the scene so that Olivia was aware of where the remote is, so she was conscientious of it when she jumped him. I don't know how realistic it is. It's probably more likely that one of them would go off, but if she was careful like she intended…

Chapter 4

"Yes, I'll pass that information on to Captain Cragen. Thank you," Elliot said hanging up the phone. He had just finished talking with the NYPD and they had informed them that a bomb squad was on their way. They suggested in the meantime that they do what Cragen had already instructed: stay put.

Elliot ran a hand through his hair worriedly. Now that he had finished making the phone call, he could finally return to the interrogation room to make sure Olivia was okay. He hated this situation. He could deal with tortures, beatings, and whatever hell some criminal threw at him, but he couldn't handle seeing it done to anyone else. Although nothing like that had happened yet, there wasn't anything to stop it from commencing and there was certainly no way to stop it.

He turned with determination towards the interrogation rooms when a sudden explosion went off on the second floor. Elliot immediately dropped to his knees. He heard someone yell "Get down!" but he couldn't tell who it was. Wood from the balcony and door quickly became airborne and began to rain down on the people below. People began screaming, and when Elliot felt that it was okay to stand, he surveyed the remains.

A hole about three feet across broke the flow of the railing. The ends on either side of the hole leaned at awkward angles and were splintered with harsh jagged ends. From his position on the ground floor, he could not see any of the door. The force of the explosion had caused the door to fly inwards and out of sight.

Elliot saw Fin attending to a woman who had been struck by falling pieces of the banister, but Fin himself looked unharmed. Munch, who had taken shelter under his desk, now stood up and was helping those near him. Elliot now concerned that someone might have been in that office, ran upstairs. The office belonged to a senior detective, David Morse. A quick evaluation revealed the door hanging slightly off the bottom hinge, which caused it to rest at a twenty-degree angle. A section about two inches from the doorknob had been cleanly blown off. A black ash that had burned the door darkened the area around the hole. He did not see any sign of Detective Morse.

"Detective Morse?" Elliot called. A groan came from the other side of the desk and Elliot quickly ran over to it. Detective Morse laid on the ground in his chair, a slightly dazed look on his face. Apparently the explosion had knocked him over. Elliot instantly noticed a two-inch cut run across the man's forehead and was bleeding into his white hairline.

"Can you stand?" Elliot asked. Detective Morse nodded and Elliot helped him to his feet while investigating his cut. "Come on, let's get you downstairs. You're probably going to need stitches."

"Stitches?" The man said, his eyes beginning to focus. "For this thing?" He asked as he put his hand to his head and pulled back blood in surprise. "This is nothing. Have them save their equipment for someone who really needs it."

Elliot didn't say anything. Whether or not Morse wanted to admit that he was injured was his choice, but as far as Elliot was concerned Morse was going to see a doctor. "Tell me what happened."

Morse shrugged. "I was just sitting in my office, following the Captain's orders when boom! The bomb went off."

Elliot stared. "You mean you didn't touch the door?"

"No, that's what I meant when I said I was following orders." Elliot took Morse downstairs and released him in the care of Dr. Melinda Warner, who had been called up following the blast. The look Warner sent him demanded to know what was going on, but Elliot ignored it. He needed to find Cragen. If this guy could set off any door at any time, then their problem was bigger than they originally thought.

Elliot searched the crowd without success. He could tell Cragen later. In the meantime, he needed to check on Olivia. They had been away from the interrogation room longer than Elliot would have liked. Not that he enjoyed watching his partner remain at the mercy of a psycho rapist, but he liked knowing what was going on with her than allowing his mind to create horrible scenarios.

When he reached the scene, he watched as Olivia gingerly stood up from the floor. Morgan was standing in satisfaction, observing her slow movements. Even from where he stood, Elliot could make out a red circle around her left eye that was beginning to fade into a darkening purple. Harsh red welts were also seen going across her neck. _What the hell happened?_ Elliot wanted to know, but he could deduce nothing from his position behind the glass.

"Don't worry Olivia," Morgan said with mock concern for Olivia's feelings. "The blast was a small one. Just enough to prove my threat."

Elliot could tell that Olivia was trying as hard as she could to keep the fear and worry from reaching her face. She had no idea what kind of damage the explosion had caused. Elliot wished he could run in there and assure her that for the most part everyone was okay. Unfortunately, now that Morgan had thoroughly proven what sort of power he had, Elliot knew that wasn't possible.

"What do you want, Greg?" Olivia demanded, somehow finding the nerve to step closer to him. "You've come in here declaring you raped two women and we suddenly find ourselves in a situation where we can't leave the precinct. If you wanted to blow us all up at once it would have been all too easy. So what do you want?"

Morgan nodded in satisfaction. "I see your point, but I'm not answering your question till I'm out of these cuffs, and if I don't get the keys, I assure you, I will set off another bomb."

"You do realize the bomb squad is on its way. It's standard procedure for a situation like this," Olivia stated. "What do you think is going to happen to you when you try to set off another one of your bombs and it doesn't go off?"

Morgan's grin deepened and he closed the little distance that remained between them. Olivia held her ground and met his gaze. "That's the reason I've got you, Olivia. They may be able to locate all the bombs. Hell, they may be able to figure out how to disarm them, though it's quite difficult, but they cannot reach the one on this door, therefore they can't reach me. That means, Olivia, they can't reach you." Olivia's eyes widened and she found herself taking a step back away from him.

"You're scared," Morgan pointed out. "As you should be."

"This is crazy," Olivia shot back, not knowing what else she could say. For the moment she was stuck in a hopeless situation. Her threats held no backing since she had no access to anyone who could help her. "You're going to get caught."

"That may be true but whether or not I'm caught does not depend on your fate, Olivia." Olivia turned a sharp gaze towards Morgan, but Morgan just laughed. Elliot felt his hands ball into fists at his side. If Morgan were to ever be within his reach, he wouldn't live long enough to blink.

How Olivia managed to keep her voice so strong when her eyes held so much fear, Elliot couldn't be sure. Maybe it was because he just knew her that well. He could see through the type of person she liked to pretend to be in difficult situations. No matter how she did it, Elliot admired her for it and prayed to God that he was the only one who could see the fear in her eyes. "If I die by your hand, Greg, you can be assured of one thing: your death, and when you're in hell, I assure you I won't be there, but at least I know you'll be suffering through all that hell has to offer."

"I'm already in hell," Morgan muttered as he circled around away from Olivia, heading for the mirror. He stopped, his face only centimeters from the glass. He switched his gaze back and forth from one side of the mirror to the other. Being a one-way mirror, Elliot knew that Morgan had no idea where he was and therefore had to keep his gaze steadily moving.

"You've already seen what I'm capable of. I suggest that someone give me the key to these cuffs," he said shaking the cuffs in front of the window, "or I'll blow up another door. You've got ten minutes." Looking into the man's eyes as he stood there, Elliot had no doubt that his threat was real. Elliot, therefore, felt only a little relief when Cragen suddenly appeared next to him.

"What happened, Elliot?" Cragen demanded after taking a quick glance into the interrogation room. Elliot quickly explained his telephone conversation, his conversation with Morse, as well as the most current threat Morgan now posed.

"Damnit," Cragen said looking into the room. "Did the squad say how long till they get here?"

"No, Sir, and even if they did, we can't count on them to disarm the bombs in time," Elliot said, never taking his eyes off of Morgan and Olivia. Cragen rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. Elliot had the feeling he was struggling to come up with a decision.

"Give him the key," Cragen whispered.

"Cap…" Elliot tried.

"We can't risk it, Elliot. There's not enough time. I've got to believe that he doesn't intend on hurting her. She's his best bargaining tool," Cragen said sorrowfully. Elliot knew that Cragen didn't want to give up the key or put Olivia in harms way any more than she already was, but he still hated it. He hated it even more because he knew if he were in Cragen's position, he would do the same thing in hopes of saving a lot more people.

Elliot took out a small silver key and placed it in his palm. It was the standard key to open all cuffs made for the SVU facility.

"Six minutes, Detectives," Morgan said after having glanced at his watch. He was standing at the far side of the left mirror, leaning against it, waiting. Elliot walked over to the door and knocked. His height gave his eyes the perfect view into the room. His eyes met Olivia's. He tried sending her a vote of confidence in his gaze, but he was blocked when Morgan's own blue eyes appeared in front of him.

Morgan seemed to be sizing Elliot up. He moved back away from the window like a door so that Elliot was given a clear shot of Olivia again. Elliot glanced up at her, but quickly turned his gaze back to Morgan. A look of triumph appeared on his face and Elliot felt sick, not knowing what he could have possibly done to make Morgan happy. The key was still in his hand.

"Under the door, Detective," Morgan instructed. Elliot glared at Morgan before he placed the key on the ground by his foot. Morgan's face disappeared from view as Elliot stood back to full height.

"We'll get you out," Elliot mouthed to Olivia, now that she was in view again. Olivia gave him a quick nod of understanding before his shoe squeaked against the floor after having kicked the key. Morgan's face appeared a minute later holding the empty pair of handcuffs in front of the small door window.

"Thank you, Detective. That was a smart move." Morgan turned around and headed back towards Olivia. Elliot immediately left the door window and headed back to the large one-way mirror. Olivia seemed to be eyeing the handcuffs with trepidation as Morgan purposefully approached her with them.

"So tell me Olivia, who was your boyfriend at the window?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know," Olivia lied. No matter what, she was going to make sure that he didn't get any more leverage out of her than he already had.

"Really?" Morgan asked doubtfully. "Because he sure seemed to know you."

"Yeah? Well maybe he's a stalker," Olivia answered. If this had been any other situation, Elliot might have laughed at her answer, but the expression on Morgan's face kept any sort of chuckle out of his throat. Before Olivia could block him, Morgan had slapped her hard across the face. Olivia hit the wall of the concrete interrogation room, hard. Morgan quickly advanced on her and took advantage of her slightly dazed state to force her into a nearby chair.

"Is that so?" he asked as he straddled her once again, this time he stretched his body across her chest so that he could maneuver the chain of the cuffs onto the middle bar of the back of the chair. "You know what I think?" Olivia turned her head away, trying to keep his hot breath of her cheek. She struggled to keep her hands out of his grasp, but he was much stronger. Before she knew it, the cold metal bracelets had been secured around her wrists. She tried pulling on either end of them, but the wooden bar kept the cuffs in limited movement.

"I think," he said, putting his full weight on her legs now, his legs dangling out somewhere behind her. He bent down and whispered into her ear. "I think that he loves you." Just when Olivia thought he was going to pull away from her, he bent down, and kissed her cheek. "Which is going to make this a lot more interesting."


	5. Inside Looking Out

**A/N**: I am absolutely ecstatic about the reviews! Thank you all so much! I'm trying my best to add-on as much as possible, but I start college this fall so I've been busy. I hope this chapter does nothing to disappoint and continues the excellent comments from my wonderful reviewers!

Special thanks to **Rae of Rosemary **for adding me to her C2 community and all of you who have placed me on your favorites lists. It really means a lot to me.

**WARNING**: This chapter contains a fair amount of bad language and sexual situations. So, those with weak constitutions may want to create mental bleeps and black censors for themselves during those parts, or just not read it. Your choice.

Chapter 5 

"Elliot, you need to let go." Elliot continued to stare into the room, not at all comprehending anything Cragen had just said. He felt his anger rising as Morgan pulled away from a seemingly harmless kiss looking extremely satisfied. _I'm going to kill that son-of-a-bitch, _he thought.

"Elliot!" Elliot jerked his head to face Cragen, who Elliot now realized, had placed a hand coaxingly on Elliot's arm trying to release the death grip he had on the sill of the window. Elliot jerked his arm away.

"We never should have given him the fucking key," Elliot yelled, angry more at his helplessness rather than at Cragen. Cragen knew it to.

"Elliot, I can't have you doubting me now. That won't help us and it won't help Olivia. Do you understand me?" Cragen asked, making direct eye contact with him.

"Yes, Sir," Elliot muttered with shame and anger for the way he had reacted.

"Good news," Munch said approaching them, a manila folder in hand. "I've found our psycho's file. Took me a little while since the report was under his father's name. His name is Gregory James Morgan. Born in 1972, he grew up in Chicago, but moved to New York in 1977 with his parents—"

"That's all fine and dandy, but what about his case?" Elliot broke in impatiently. Munch flashed Elliot a look of annoyance over his glasses before continuing.

"The statement given by Leonard Parker Morgan, the father, who arrived home after work the night of his wife's murder, had dinner with his wife, and consensual sex. He said he left sometime during the night to take a walk and think about a work problem. When he returned he said he'd found his wife laying dead on their bed."

"Let me guess," Elliot continued. "The cops investigate, find extensive bruising, a husband with no alibi, but a motive for money in case of the wife's death."

"Yep," Munch confirmed. "The ME placed the death somewhere between two and five in the morning. A tox screen was also run on Mr. Morgan, and he was found to have a BAC of 0.095. It says that Olivia was assigned to the case at the time and helped find the evidence for the prosecution. Mr. Morgan was convicted of rape, manslaughter, and insurance fraud. Got twenty-five to life."

"He's still serving time, then?" Cragen asked hopefully.

"Actually, no. He killed himself a year later by suffocating on a plastic spoon," Munch answered.

"What about the sister? Morgan mentioned she was raped too," Elliot said.

Munch took a minute to look through and turn the pages within the file. "Nope, there's no mention of a sister."

"If there was an investigation, there should be a file," Elliot pointed out.

"Do you have a name?" Munch asked expectantly.

"No, but I think Olivia worked on that case as well. Apparently she was raped like her mother, but I think she survived."

"Munch, locate the sister's file and see if you can find a current address. Call Huang and get him down here. I want to know what this guy is thinking."

"I'm on it," Munch said, leaving the group with a look at Elliot that told him to calm down.

Once Munch left, Cragen turned to Elliot. "You're going to cut the attitude right now. I'm as anxious to end this as you, but it doesn't get done any faster by snapping at other detectives who are trying to help. Got it?"

Elliot didn't say anything, but gave a big sigh and a slight nod. "Good, now I want you to keep an eye on Olivia, and keep me informed of what goes on in there. If I feel you can't handle it, I'll assign you to something else." It was a threat that Elliot knew Cragen would keep. How Cap was managing to keep such a level head during all of this, Elliot had no idea, but he knew he had to start gaining some control if he wanted to find anyway to help his partner.

Cragen took one more look into the interrogation room before heading into the main work area.

"Hey Cap!" Cragen looked up to where Munch was standing up from his desk. The phone that had been resting between his cheek and shoulder was moved away from his mouth once he saw Cragen turn. "Huang's in his office and wants to know if it's safe to come out."

Cragen sighed. He was hoping that that wouldn't be the case. He would just have to wait to get a psych evaluation. "No, tell him to stay where he is."

"Cap!" Cragen looked over towards the new voice and found Fin motioning him over. He too had a phone in his hands.

"I've got the bomb squad on the line. They said they're outside and want to know the situation." Cragen reached for the phone and Fin gave it to him.

"This is Captain Donald Cragen, to whom am I speaking?"

"Sergeant Ben Jabbers of the New York City Bomb Squad," came a deep voice. "Are you in charge of the facility?"

"Yes," Cragen answered.

"Please explain the situation." Cragen did a quick summary of their knowledge of Morgan and everything that had occurred so far.

"What about windows? Has he said anything about them?" Sergeant Jabbers asked thoughtfully.

"No."

"Anyone in your facility have any previous experience with explosives?"

Cragen thought for a moment. "One of my men transfered from the BS. A Ted Fisher."

"Is he in the office right now?"

"Yes."

"Accessible?"

"I think so."

"Okay, this is what we're going to do. Find Ted Fisher and put him on the phone with me. If I think he knows his stuff, we're going to go to one of the front windows of the building. We'll investigate it from the outside, and your man from the inside. If it's clear, we're going to open the window and start getting your people out of there. Can Morgan see the window I specified from where he is?"

Cragen's eyes shifted back to where the interrogation rooms were. "No, he can't see anything."

"Good, now do you have a phone you can carry around with you?"

"Yes, I've got my cell phone."

"Alright, I'll give you the number for this phone, you give me the number for yours so we can stay in contact. I want you to locate Ted Fisher and then call me back. Any questions?"

"None," Cragen responded, feeling hopeful that they finally may be getting somewhere. He hung up the phone and set on his search of finding Fisher.

5555

"Don't you ever do that again," Olivia warned, her eyes burning with hatred as she looked at Morgan.

Morgan pushed his body closer to Olivia's. "You mean this?" Instead of going for her cheek, Morgan went straight for her lips. Olivia turned her head frantically from side to side, trying to keep her lips out of his reach and her mouth closed, but Morgan put his hands on either side of her head and brought his lips forcefully on hers.

The sensation was weird seeing as how Olivia didn't make any reaction to return the kiss. The feeling reminded her of when she had once put her finger in a little baby's mouth she had been holding. The baby sucked on her finger with a gentle pressure due to its lack of teeth. This kiss was a lot similar to that.

Suddenly, Olivia felt the tip of his tongue playing at the narrow valley between her lips. Olivia opened her mouth and bit down hard on his tongue like a baby who had just discovered its teeth. Morgan pulled away instantly, but even Olivia could taste a few drops of blood in her own mouth. She began spitting out to one side of the chair as Morgan's surprise caused him to jump off of her.

"You bitch!" he yelled as he looked at her. Blood was dripping down the front of his mouth. "So that's how you want it to be?"

Morgan stood in front of her, brought his fist back and punched her hard in the face. Olivia's head jerked painfully to one side. She thought she heard something in her jaw crack, but she couldn't be sure. The pain was persistent and only seemed to increase the more she thought about it. As she tried to clear her head, she began to become aware that Morgan was on her again, but this time he was doing something.

It took her a moment to realize that he had successfully un-tucked her shirt from her pants. Another second caused her to realize that he was only two buttons away from having her blouse completely unbuttoned. Just as quickly, her blouse opened to reveal her plain black bra to any and all that were watching.

"You want to know how good that felt, Olivia?" he demanded, looking completely insane in his anger. "It felt like this." He took his hands and placed them both on her lean stomach, but then brought them up slowly under her bra. He touched, poked, prodded, and pinched her breasts all while giving her bloody kisses up and down her neck.

"Stop it!" Olivia protested as she began shaking the chair with her body as much as she could. She could even hear a level of panic in her voice that she wished wasn't there, but she couldn't help it. She didn't know how far this guy would go. The guy had already admitted to raping twice, which meant he was fully capable of it. The last thing she wanted to do was be raped, but it would be five times worse if he decided to rape her in front of her colleagues. It would desecrate the one place she thought herself safe. No, she couldn't let him rape her. "Get off of me!" she shouted again.

A loud pounding came from the front window. Morgan stopped. His hands were still under her bra, but his face was now turned towards the mirror. The pounding stopped and Olivia could suddenly hear a very muffled voice coming in through the door jam.

"Looks like we have an audience," Morgan said to her in satisfaction. Olivia felt a rush of shame for being seen as she was. She was defenseless, and this man seemed to enjoy using her body as a punching bag and a play toy. To Olivia's relief, Morgan got up off of her and made his way towards the door. "What? I can't hear you!" Morgan shouted at the door. He sent a mischievous grin back at Olivia and then returned his attention back to the door.

"I said, don't you dare touch her you _asshole_!" The words were said so loudly that even Olivia could make them out. It was Elliot, she knew that instantly. A second later, Elliot's red face appeared in the window in the door.

"Olivia, why didn't you tell me it was your boyfriend!" Morgan chided while staring in satisfaction at Elliot.

"If you touch her again," Elliot threatened. "You're going to wish for the death penalty."

"I'm afraid Olivia's been cheating on you," Morgan said as if Elliot hadn't spoken.

"You stay away from her!"

"Or you'll do what?" Morgan demanded, his smile fading a fraction. "You can threaten me all you want, but the reality is, you can't do a damn thing because you're on the other side of this door. This is my game. You follow my rules or we all lose."

Morgan turned back to Olivia, who sat there listening with her shirt open the entire time. Morgan went over to her and haphazardly closed random buttons so that the shirt was mostly closed. He gave no explanation as he did this. Olivia let herself feel a little relieved that he was stopping there, but she still was afraid of what was to come. As soon as he was finished, Morgan walked to the other side of the table, as if thinking.

"What's the plan now?" Olivia asked carefully. "You're intent on coming here certainly wasn't to spend time with me."

"No, you're right of course, Olivia," Morgan said conversationally. "Now that I'm confident that we do have an audience, I guess it's a good time to explain why I'm here."

Olivia waited hoping that whatever he had to say would mean her freedom would be granted sometime in the near future.

"I will disarm the bombs, you have my word on that," Morgan told her seriously. "But only once my father's name is cleared."

Olivia felt her heart sink. "You mean you want us to locate your mother's rapist?"

"And sister's."

"But your father—"

"My father was _innocent_," Morgan cried. "I want evidence presented to me, with a pardon for my father, of the man who raped my mother and sister."

"Then why keep me here, when I can help the investigation?" Olivia asked.

Morgan's eyes flashed. "You've shown how much you can _help_. You _helped _put my father in jail. You _helped _close the case on my sister. You need to pay for your mistakes."


	6. Disarming Love

A/N: 107 reviews! Wow! I am positively ecstatic! I had no idea you all would like this story so much! I really hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint or discourage anyone from reviewing more for this chapter! I am also really sorry for not updating, but my summer's been hectic and I just moved into my dorm. Switching from high school to college life isn't easy despite the freedom we all yearn for. Anyway, thank you again to all the wonderful peoples for reviewing! Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Cragen knelt next to Fisher, whose eyes were probing the sill of the window. He had located Ted on the first floor, helping some of the people injured in the explosion. Needless to say, Cragen had been relieved to find that Fisher had not been in his office.

Cragen's cell phone now rested between Fisher's cheek and shoulder, as his pointer finger gently traced the airspace between the window and the sill.

"No evidence of a RL line or 3X40 box," Fisher said into the phone. "No, I don't think that's possible without leaving marks in the wood because it would have to be concealed…Yeah, I think so too…Okay." Fisher took the phone out from under his cheek and handed it to Cragen. Cragen took the phone.

"What's the story?" Cragen asked since he was unable to understand Fisher's side of the conversation.

"Fisher has convinced me that Morgan has left the window alone," Sergeant Jabbers explained. "We will open the window and start getting your people out of there. After that, I'll send in some of my men and we'll see what we can do about the bombs on some of the other doors in the precinct."

"Alright, I'll put everyone on alert," Cragen said hanging up. Cragen let out a sigh. He had to do this one step at a time. Though he was making progress in ending this situation, Olivia was still in trouble. His emotions left him to pray that this would end alright.

Cragen clapped his hands together to get the attention of everyone in the room. "Alright, people. I just got off the phone with the NYC Bomb Squad. They've cleared that window," he said pointing, "for us to use as our exit. I want all those who have sustained injuries that require medical treatment to exit first.

"If you are still in an office or if you know anyone who is in an office," Cragen said, unsure how many people could hear him, "do not attempt to leave. The Bomb Squad will be in here shortly to make sure the bombs are disarmed on all doors within the precinct." As soon as everyone in the office was assured that their Captain's speech was finished, a line began to form at the window Cragen had mentioned.

A few minutes later, the window had successfully been opened with no repercussions. Cragen was relieved. He looked at his watch. He needed to check on Olivia and hope that Elliot hadn't done anything crazy to make this situation worse.

6666

Olivia could understand Morgan's unwillingness to allow her to help, but the situation he put the whole precinct in seemed like a bad way to go about it. Forcing detectives to stay in their office with bombs wasn't the way to get any work done on any case.

"So tell me, Greg. How do you expect anyone in the precinct to work on your case if you've bombed them all into their offices?" Olivia asked, slightly smug.

Greg's eyes narrowed. "You don't need everyone in the offices to get the job done. Besides, I'm not as stupid as you apparently think I am. I may have rigged a lot of doors, but the windows are untouched. In other words, Olivia, the majority of the department is free to do as they wish." Olivia found something unsettling in his words. Why was he volunteering this information? She believed that he actually did want to find the culprits behind his mother and sister's murders, but she couldn't believe that he had not tampered with all the major escape routes.

Greg set his elbows down on the table. "Despite what you and your boyfriend seem to think of me, Olivia, I'm really not a bad guy. All I want is justice."

"Yeah, and all I want is to see perps like you put behind bars, and for the moment, I'm keeping my patience. You don't always get what you want. Didn't your mother ever teach you that?"

At the mention of his mother, Morgan's whole face became contorted with rage. He put his face right to Olivia's. "Don't you ever mention my mother again!" Olivia blinked at the force of the air coming from his mouth. She actually wished her hands were free so that she could wipe some of the spit that came flying at her with his words. Then again, if her hands were free, her first goal would be to kick this guy's ass, but that was beside the point. His anger scared her, but she felt she still had a chance to reason with him and if not that, at least give Elliot information on how to end this thing.

"Not a bad guy?" Olivia demanded but keeping the volume of her voice under control. "You've put everyone in this precinct in danger. You've already turned many of the innocent people out there into casualties with that single explosion. You don't fight for justice with injustice."

Greg's expression changed with the uplift of an eyebrow and look of irritated innocence so common with teenagers who talk back to their parents. "You really think that you are so much better than me? That all those people out there are better than me because you all are cops? You people go out there and search for truth and justice, but really you're looking for someone to blame. It doesn't matter to you whether or not they're innocent as long as you can still get off work in time to make it home for dinner."

Olivia felt herself becoming a broken record. "I admit I never knew your father as well as you did, but it wasn't only my perspective that got your father convicted. He was heard by a jury who heard all the evidence—"

"They heard the evidence you wanted them to hear!" Morgan said pointing his finger at Olivia. "You heard his testimony, but didn't want to take it for the truth. Instead, you wanted to make up your own story so that in the end, Detective Olivia Benson would once again look like a hero."

"I gave them the facts!" Olivia shouted back, unable to stop herself.

"Shut up!" Morgan screamed. Morgan swung his arm back and gave Olivia a swift punch in the stomach. The punch was so hard that it sent Olivia and the chair flying backwards at least six inches. Olivia struggled to catch her breath as she sat hunched over her knees. Breathing heavily, it took her a few moments to raise her head, but when she looked at Morgan her gaze was murderous.

"Maybe now you understand, Olivia," Morgan said calming down. "The determination in your eyes is the same emotion I possess. I know that if I were to let you free, you would hunt me down until you were sure that I had faced all the charges for the crimes I've committed. Yes, now you understand."

Morgan fell to his knees beside her and let his hand graze the swelling purple around her eye from an earlier punch she had suffered at the fist of his rage. "Then you'll also understand that I don't care if I make it out of here alive, as long as you don't make it out either."

6666

"That son-of-a-bitch," Elliot mumbled to himself. He wanted to jump through the mirror and strangle Morgan.

He also looked furiously at Olivia. Why did she have to coax out his anger? Why couldn't she keep herself out of harms way? Why couldn't he protect her?

"What's this bastard done now?" Cragen asked him casually as he anxiously looked in on Olivia to make sure she remained relatively unharmed as he tried to understand the look of anger and helplessness that crossed his face.

"He's going to kill her!" Elliot raged. "He's going to make sure she doesn't make it out of there alive!"

"Slow down, Elliot, and tell me what he said," Cragen soothed. Elliot took a couple deep breaths and then explained what it was that Morgan wanted and what he had said about Olivia.

"He's not going down without taking Olivia down with him," Elliot finished. "We need to do something now!"

"Get into your head, Elliot," Cragen reprimanded. "What do you think we can do without endangering her life? I don't need obvious statements right now, I need plans."

Elliot ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Sorry, Cap," Elliot murmured, pacing. "The window!" Elliot cried in realization. He turned to the one-way mirror and gazed into the room at the bared window on the far side of the right wall. "If he didn't rig the windows, couldn't we use that to get to him? We could pour gas into the room or something."

Cragen looked at the window thoughtfully. "It's definitely a good idea, Elliot, but we have to wait."

"Why."

"Whether or not we can get to Morgan right now is unimportant. It's the bombs we have to worry about at the moment. If we can't figure out how to deactivate them, then we don't stand a chance of getting to Olivia." Elliot slammed the palm of his hand into the mirror causing Olivia and Morgan to look up, but Elliot wasn't paying attention to them.

"Elliot!"

"He's beating her, Cap!" Elliot shouted. "When this department finally gets its priorities in order and realize that she fucking needs our help, it'll be too late!"

"Elliot, I'm going to ask you one last time to get a hold of yourself before I have you physically taken off this property," Cragen said threateningly. His threat was only to efficiently calm Elliot down, but he would go through with it if Elliot refused to cooperate. Elliot didn't reply, but he didn't yell back either. Cragen felt that he had gotten his message across and proceeded to inform Elliot of what was going on in the office room.

"How long does he estimate it'll take?" Elliot asked.

"I don't know. He's got to get a look at the bombs first." An uncomfortable silence fell between the two, suddenly broken by Munch and Fin.

"What do you got?" Cragen asked, unable to make anything out from the faces of the two Detectives.

"Only more questions," Fin responded, looking to Munch to give Cragen the details.

"I was looking back for birth records for the sister's name so I could find the case file, but there's no record of any other sibling to the Morgan family in New York or Illinois," Munch explained.

"You think it could have been an affair?" Cragen asked. "This wasn't exactly one giant happy family. The child could have taken the mother's last name to reduce questions."

"I checked into that," Fin continued, "but if that's true he was a lousy father. No regular transfers on his bank accounts to be consistent with child support."

"Unless he paid in cash," Elliot spoke up.

"Then he'd have to have an account we don't know about. There's no record of any checks or withdrawal for a large enough amount."

"That or maybe he doesn't have a sister," Munch guessed. "This is the only file I found that matches Morgan's description." Munch passed a folder he had been holding over to Cragen opened to a handwritten statement given by a woman named Stacy Morgan.

"She filed a report claiming she had been raped by a man who blindfolded her, but cried the whole time. He seemed to enjoy it about as much as she did. She did, however, manage to get a view of her attacker once." Munch stated.

"What happened in court?" Elliot asked.

"Never made it to court," Cragen said, having finished reading the file. "She got stopped by the Statue of Limitations. She never reported the rape because she said the guy threatened to kill her if she went to the cops. The calls stopped when the six month limit was up and she finally got the courage to come forward, but lack of evidence kept the case from going any further."

"So the perp knew the law," Elliot finished.

"That would be my guess," Cragen replied.

"A cop?" Munch hypothesized.

Cragen shook his head. "There's no proof of that. Fin, Munch, I want the two of you to go and interview Stacy Morgan. Find out everything she remembers and see if she has any relation to the Morgans'. Elliot, stay here. I need to talk with Sergeant Jabbers."

6666

"Sergeant Jabbers?" Cragen asked of the man who seemed to be in charge of the activities within the main office room. All of Cragen's staff that wasn't currently in their offices had successfully left the building. The room was quickly being refilled with Sergeant Jabbers's men filing in through the window. "Captain Don Cragen."

The two shook hands. "What's the story with the bombs?"

"Well, we've currently located five on the ground floor and three on the upper," Jabbers said. "It seems as if Morgan really did know his stuff. He's placed detonators to trigger a plastic explosive within the inner circuits of the bomb which means if we try to open the bomb up to get to the wires, the bomb will be triggered to explode."

"Is there a way to get around that?" Cragen asked.

"Sure, but it's time consuming and tedious. I'm sure that's what your guy intended."

"I need to get into one of the offices upstairs, has it been cleared yet?" Sergeant Jabbers looked down at the clipboard he was holding.

"What number?"

"204. George Huang." Jabbers's finger traveled down the list, pausing at the number 204. "Yeah, it's clear."

"Alright, I'm going up there. I want you to start releasing people whose rooms have been cleared," Cragen ordered.

"Will do," Sergeant Jabbers said nodding. Cragen left the Sergeant with another officer and proceeded upstairs to Huang's office. He stopped in front of the door briefly before entering without knocking.

Upon seeing, Cragen, Huang closed a manila folder filled with various reports and put it down on his desk.

"What's going on, Don?" As a psychiatrist and a friend, Huang often called the people in the squad by their first name, unless they preferred to be called something else. Slowly, Cragen explained everything, starting with Morgan turning himself in, to the rape of the supposed sister, Stacy Morgan.

Huang frowned as he took it all in. "Morgan likes attention and control. He walked into the station with a plan and reassurance that the plan is full proof. My guess is that he wants revenge on Olivia for taking away the control, the stability he had within his own family. I think it's very probable he raped the two women he said he did, and I think he told you so that you would take him more seriously. He could have confessed to any number of crimes that SVU has priority over, but he chose rape.

"As for the rape of Stacy Morgan, I doubt it was done for control." Huang leaned back in his chair, thoughtfully. "The man in that case sought Stacy out possibly because she reminded him of someone from her past. The blindfold is a common technique used among rapists, but combined with the crying I don't think that the man used it so as not to be identified. I think he was reliving a past memory."

"Like an abuse by mom or dad?" Cragen asked his eyebrows furrowed.

"The blindfold on his victim could represent himself; his desire to hide and repress the memory, but it also could be related to a spouse. I'm thinking maybe an abortion of a son or daughter, or perhaps a brother or sister. The rape represents not only the way a child is conceived, but a way a child is destroyed, both emotionally and physically. The rapist may for some reason believe that he caused the abortion to happen or felt he couldn't stop it. That's why I am led to believe the emotions may have been brought on by a spouse, rather than a family member, but both are possible."

"So you believe the two rapes to be unconnected?" Cragen asked.

"Comparing the actions of the two, yes, I do, but comparing the emotions, no I don't." Cragen raised an eyebrow at this.

"Don, this is not an exact science, you know that," Huang stated. "In the unstable emotional state of Morgan and the other rapist, it is very possible for one to be other, but it's also completely plausible for them to be unrelated. Many rapists develop similar patterns. It could be a coincidence or they could be the same people. I might be able to tell you more once I have Stacy's full testimony."

"Thanks, Huang. You're free to leave for awhile, but I'm going to want you back here as soon as I hear from Munch and Fin," Cragen said standing up to leave.

"No problem, Don." Cragen paused, as Huang reached over to put on his black jacket.

"George, do you think it's a good idea for me to leave Elliot down there?" Cragen asked.

Huang's eyes searched Cragen's. "It's not my job to tell you how to do your job, but I have a feeling that even if you assigned him to do something else, he'd be there anyway." Cragen nodded, feeling a little relieved by Huang's words. That would be the closest Huang would ever go to revealing the emotions inside a patient or friend and Cragen thanked him for it.


	7. Enough Truth

A/N: I'm really sorry that I haven't been updating! The college life keeps me sooo busy! I don't know how other college students do it! I'll try to be better about it, but I ask you all hang in there. There are only a few more chapters left I think. Thanks for all the wonderful people who reviewed!

Chapter 7

Munch and Fin stood waiting outside of Stacy Morgan's apartment. Munch had already taken the liberty of knocking and soft footsteps could be heard in approach to the door. The door opened, but a chain restrained its width. A woman, looking to be in her mid-thirties opened the door. She had shinning blue eyes, golden hair, and a fair complexion to match.

"Stacy Morgan?" Fin asked gently.

"Yes. Who are you?" She asked timidly.

"Detectives Munch and Fin, Special Victims Unit," Munch responded as they both held up their badges. "Can we speak with you for a moment?" Stacy looked at them hesitantly, before she nodded and closed the door to remove the chain. When it opened again, she moved aside to allow them entry.

The apartment was tastefully furnished with leather couches, a glass coffee table and beautiful marble cabinets with cedar cabinets could be seen from their position in the living room.

"Would either of you like something to drink?" Stacy asked, once they had taken a seat on the couch. She looked a little nervous about seeing them here.

"No, but thanks," Fin answered for the both of them.

"What's this about?" Stacy asked, finally taking a seat across from them. Though the couches were incredibly comfortable, Stacy's posture gave the impression she was sitting on a couch of nails.

"We've come to ask you questions about your rape," Fin explained.

"But that was over a year ago. That statute of limitations is up," Stacy stated, slightly confused.

"We know," Munch spoke up, "but its possible your rape may be connected to some other ones were investigating." Stacy looked surprised, but didn't speak up.

"What can you remember from that night?" Fin asked gently.

"I was alone in my apartment. Not this apartment," Stacy rushed. "I moved after it happened. I was getting ready for bed, when someone knocked at my door. I-I asked who it was but no one answered. I figured they couldn't hear me, but when I opened the door, I got a glimpse of the man before he rushed into the apartment, slamming the door behind him. He came around me from behind. He tied a cloth around my eyes and covered my mouth with his hand before he dragged me into the bedroom." Stacy stopped talking, her eyes tearing as she looked at the detectives.

"I know this is hard, but do you remember if he said anything to you?" Fin asked.

Stacy shook her head as if trying to clear the memories, but answered. "He told me not to cry out or he'd hurt me. During the whole time, he cried. He kept saying, 'She'll pay. She'll pay for what she did. I'll make her pay.'" Tears fell down Stacy's cheeks, but she wiped them away.

"It's alright," Fin soothed.

"In your testimony he said he threatened you about going to the police," Munch coaxed.

Stacy nodded. "He left messages on my phone at home and on my cell phone. He said if I went to the police, he'd come back and kill me."

"Any idea how he got your phone numbers?" Fin asked.

"I don't know. He might have looked through my things before he left. I-I didn't take off the blind fold until I heard the door close, just like he told me."

"Do you have any relatives? Brothers or sisters?" Munch asked.

"Yes, I have a brother," Stacy answered slowly.

Fin and Munch glanced at one another before continuing. "What's your brother's name?"

Something seemed flittered in her eyes. From where the two detectives say, it looked a lot like fear. "Gregory Morgan."

7777

"Ah, I'm getting to old for stuff like this," Munch moaned as he climbed back through the window into the precinct.

"Yeah, and you look like it too," Fin commented as he watched Munch gingerly step through the window.

"Tell me you got something," Cragen said approaching them, not giving Munch an opportunity to reply.

"She confirmed all the info we had on the rape," Munch stated.

"Plus she admitted to being Morgan's sister," Fin added.

"Why don't you sound convinced?" Cragen asked, noticing the phrasing of Fin's answer.

"I got a vibe. She seemed almost afraid to talk about him," Fin said with a shrug.

"When was the last time they spoke?"

"Almost a year ago. She said they kinda lost touch after the father killed himself."

Cragen frowned. "That's odd, you'd think an event like that would bring family closer. Any explanation to the lack of a birth record under her name to the Morgan family?"

Fin shook his head. "Not really. Said the hospital must have misplaced it."

"We need a DNA test," Munch pointed out.

"DNA test is useless unless we have Morgan's DNA," Fin argued.

"Well Morgan was in the Marines, right? They got to have his DNA on file. Take Warner and see if you can get Stacy's consent. I'll get in contact with Casey and see what we can do about a warrant."

7777

"Ms. Morgan. It's Detectives Munch and Fin," Munch said knocking on the door to Stacy's apartment once again. Stacy opened the door a crack, the chain still securely in place.

"I've told you everything I know, I swear," Stacy insisted upon seeing them.

"We know and we appreciate how helpful you've been. This is our ME, Dr. Melinda Warner. We were hoping you could give us a DNA sample," Munch said.

Stacy looked afraid. "A DNA sample? Why do you need a DNA sample?"

"With no birth record available, we just want to verify that we have the right person."

"My word isn't enough?" Stacy demanded. "I know my rights. I know I don't have to consent to your request."

"Please, Ms. Morgan," Munch insisted. "It's not that we don't trust you. Our captain just won't let us continue the investigation without physical proof you are who you say you are."

Stacy looked about ready to break, but then her expression hardened once again. "You come here again and I'll call my lawyer and sue you for harassment." Stacy then, promptly slammed the door in their face.

"So that's your girl," Warner said looking at the door. "I can see why you don't trust her."

Meanwhile, Munch had already pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "Do you think there's any chance that Casey could get us two warrants?"

7777

"Absolutely not! No judge will give a warrant on those grounds," Casey Novak protested after Cragen explained the situation with Stacy Morgan.

"Casey, this girl is evidently hiding something. She may have known something about Morgan's plans to begin with" Cragen argued.

"Where's the evidence? Any judge will smell a fishing expedition before I even get the request out," Casey insisted. "If you want me to get a warrant, you're going to have to find evidence with a more substantial connection between Greg and Stacy. What about birth records?"

"No birth record in the state of Illinois or New York. That's why we need the DNA test. If she's been in contact with Morgan, she could have known about this plot." Cragen insisted.

"Charge her and question her then. I'm going to need something solid if I'm going to go to a judge." He knew Casey was right, but he had hoped that there would have been some way for Casey to approach the court the system.

"Don't give up hope," Casey said handing Cragen the warrant for Greg Morgan's DNA from the Marines. "That's the worst thing we could do."

7777

"I answered all your questions! I don't even understand why I'm being arrested!" Fin, Munch, and Warner were still at Stacy Morgan's residence. After being unable to get a warrant from Casey, Cragen told them to arrest Stacy for accessory to sexual assault, battery, public endangerment and conspiracy to commit manslaughter to name only a few of the charges Gregory Morgan was already facing. Unfortunately, because of the bombs still present at the precinct, Captain Cragen could not forcefully bring a civilian in for questioning, so they were to remain in Stacy's apartment.

"Right now, your _brother_," Munch said with emphasis, "is holding one of our detectives' hostage at our precinct."

"What?" Stacy asked, seeming confused and afraid.

"We believe you know something about it, being his sister and all," Fin implied.

Stacy didn't say anything for a moment, but then she spoke up quietly in at last attempt at innocence. "But I already told you, I haven't spoken with Greg for over a year."

"Tell us the truth, then," Fin coaxed. Stacy looked into Fin's eyes. Even being a police officer, there was an anxiety he couldn't hide. Within those depths, the subconscious worry over Olivia seemed to be there, even when he tried to hide it. Stacy saw it and caved.

"I'll tell you everything."

7777

Greg hadn't said a word to Olivia for the last hour. The chair remained in the new location Greg had put her in after he punched her. Meanwhile, he kept on the other side of the room, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. She wanted to summon him to talk, but it seemed as if every time they spoke, it worked out in his favor and Olivia was in turn punished for her questions.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Olivia said finally, hoping that for some reason, any reason, Morgan might see it fit to pity her. Morgan however, looked at her skeptically, his head tilting lazily to one side.

"That's too bad, Olivia, because there's no way you can leave this room. So, I'm afraid you're going to have to hold it." Olivia narrowed her eyes at him, but he just gave a small smirk in return before leaning back against the wall, his eyes slowly closing. Olivia slowly let her eyes close, hoping that if he were to open his, he would assume that she was sleeping too and would feel no fear to fall asleep himself.

It took a solid half hour before Olivia finally convinced herself that Greg was asleep. She didn't know how she would use this time exactly, but she knew she couldn't waste the opportunity either. With one eye on Morgan, she slowly pushed the chair out behind her so that she was standing on her feet. Her hands grabbed the chair to keep the handcuffs from digging into her wrists as she gingerly made her way over to the door. She prayed to God that someone was out there right now, and could tell her what was going on.

She placed the chair down near the door and moved her lips between the door and the door jamb and was about to speak, but her knee hit something she didn't remember seeing before. A little black box, about the two inches wide and four inches long was attached to the panel of the door. Two small red lasers coming from the box resulted in the appearance of two red dots, no larger than a millimeter on the door. Apparently this was the bomb.

"Olivia!" A harsh whisper coming through the small space between the doorjamb and the door made Olivia turn away from the bomb. She recognized the voice instantly.

"Elliot! What's going on? Are you okay? Tell me what's happening!"

"We're fine, Olivia. We're still working on getting everyone out, but the majority of the precinct's been evacuated." Olivia thought he heard Elliot's voice soften. "How are you doing, Liv?"

Olivia sighed. "I'll be feeling a whole lot better once I'm outta here."

"Me too." Elliot paused, like he was going to say something more, but he didn't. Suddenly Olivia started hearing two voices on the other side of the door. She couldn't make them out because Elliot had pulled away from the door. Olivia took this opportunity to check on Morgan and make sure he was still asleep. As far as she could recall, he hadn't moved at all. She quickly turned her attention back to the door.

"Olivia, listen to me." It was Cragen speaking now. "Morgan doesn't have a sister."

"What? That doesn't make any sense. I investigated the case," Olivia protested.

"The woman you talked to was only pretending to be Morgan's sister because Morgan threatened to kill her. Morgan raped the woman you thought to be his sister, Stacy Morgan." Olivia put her forehead against the door and closed her eyes in frustration. How could she have been so blind? She never looked into Stacy's fear. Olivia never picked up on Stacy's fear when she spoke of Greg but now that she thought it about it, it all made sense. Of course she wasn't just upset about the rape; she was upset because she was still at the mercy of her rapist.

"Don't do this now, Liv." Elliot knew her so well. Knew what she was thinking. "You need to concentrate on getting out of there and staying safe."

"Ok," Olivia agreed, trying to push her own failure out of her head.

"Is there anything else you can give us about Morgan?" Olivia tried to think, but couldn't remember anything significant to tell them.

"Not that I can recall, you know more than I do right now," Olivia said with a sigh. Suddenly an explosion reverberated from somewhere upstairs.

"What the hell?" Elliot's exclaimed, his voice getting faint as he pulled away from the door. Olivia turned slowly to look behind her and saw that Morgan was no longer sleeping, but glaring at her, wide awake, with the remote in his hands. He stood up and strode purposely forward. Elliot must have seen this because he suddenly screamed her name. It took only a moment's hesitation, but Olivia had decided. She wasn't going to play this game anymore.

"Elliot, get away from the door!" Olivia shouted as Morgan came up and grabbed her from behind. Elliot backed away in horror and Cragen followed. The realization of what Olivia was about to do abruptly hit Elliot and his heart began to pound. He lunged towards the door hoping to find a way to stop her, but Cragen pulled him back.

As Morgan began pulling the chair backwards with his arm wrapped around Olivia's neck, Olivia reached out with her foot so that she disrupted the red beam of light between the door jam and the door. A loud ringing filled Olivia's ears. The sound of glass breaking was distinctive, but Olivia lost all terms with reality the moment the chair crashed into the wall behind her do to the force of the explosion. The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was Elliot calling her name.


	8. The Job

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm soooo sorry it took me such a long time to update. I'm thinking that there's probably only going to be one, maybe two chapters left. So I really appreciate everyone who has reviewed and kept with this story in spite of the long breaks between chapters. You all are awesome!

Chapter 8

"What does this asshole think he's doing anyway?" Fin yelled as the Toyota in front of him did a u-turn on a one-way street. Munch and Fin were on their way back to the precinct and traffic had barely moved. If Fin wasn't so intent on getting back to the precinct, he wouldn't have had a second thought about pulling the guy over.

"Rush hour traffic is a tricky thing," Munch explained. Fin rolled his eyes, recognizing the tone in Munch's voice to be the beginning of one of his long government conspiracies. "The federal government did it so all the Senators and prominent government officials could leave work before the designated time for all middle-class workers to be congesting the highways."

"Yeah, and what about after?" Fin asked, but without really caring about the answer.

"If they leave after rush hour it's because they got to work after morning rush hour. It's a cycle so that they always avoid traffic."

Fin shook his head in disbelief. "Finally!" he said, pounding his fist on the steering wheel as traffic moved forward.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Munch asked as he saw two more cars heading in the opposite direction.

"I dunno, but I got a bad feeling," Fin muttered. "Give Cap a call." As Munch dialed Fin was finally able to move forward, but was forced to come to stop in front of police barriers about three blocks from the precinct.

"There's no answer," Munch said with a note of worry in his voice. Both of them looked up as a police officer walked over to the driver side window.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but the road is closed, you'll have to turn around." Fin reached for his badge and held it up to the man. From the way the officer glanced over Fin's shoulder, he guessed Munch had pulled his out too.

"Detective Odafin Tutuola, Special Victims Unit. What's going on?"

"You're SVU?" Fin felt something shift in his stomach at the way the man asked the question.

"That's what I said," Fin said, trying to sound more relaxed than he felt.

"We just got a report of multiple explosions—Hey, wait!" But it was too late, that was all either of them needed to hear. Both Munch and Fin quickly got out of their car and jumped the barrier, jogging the remaining blocks to the precinct in silence.

As they got closer, they could see the flashing lights of several ambulances. The only words Fin could think of to describe the scene were uttered in disbelief and fear.

"Holy, shit."

8888

Elliot knew he should have dropped to the ground, put his hands over his head, run as far away from the door as possible, but his anxiety for Olivia kept him from doing any of those things. The next thing he knew, he was back against the wall. Splinters of wood punctured his skin, soon followed by the glass from the interrogation window. Thin lines of blood began to drip down the sides of his face. It took a minute for Elliot to even register that the explosion had stopped.

"Elliot, can you hear me?" Cragen's face appeared before his own, but it took a moment for Elliot to register who it was. Cragen had a thin cut above his eyebrow and other minor scrapes. He seemed to have faired a little better than Elliot.

"Yeah," Elliot responded drowsily.

Cragen looked concerned, but the need to find out the extent of what happened was imperative. "Elliot stay here. Don't move!" Elliot watched dreamily as Cragen made his way to the hole where the door used to be. The white door jam was charcoal black and the door had been completely thrown off its hinges, burned extensively where the bomb had been. Something seemed to click within Elliot's head and he his heart rate quickened. _Olivia_. He struggled to his feet, glancing through the broken glass window, where he could clearly see Cragen making his way towards the far wall.

He was unsteady on his feet, but he needed to see if she was alright, he was going to see. He walked into the room and instantly saw Morgan's form crumpled against the back wall. From what Elliot could see, he seemed relatively unharmed, which made Elliot's anger rise, but then he turned to where Cragen was now kneeling on the floor. The sight made Elliot choke.

Olivia lay on the ground, still in the chair, but resting on its left side. Thick streams of blood came from a wound from an unseen wound in the back of her head, almost looking like tangled strands of red hair. Her wrists were cut up badly from the strain the handcuffs had put on her skin. Her left eye was swollen shut, a nice purple bruise was forming on her jaw line, and her neck was bruised in the distinctive pattern of the chain between the handcuffs. The worst part, to Elliot at the moment, was that from where he stood, he couldn't tell if she was breathing.

"Elliot!" Elliot turned sharply to look at Cragen, whose anxious expression seemed to reveal that he had tried more than once to get Elliot's attention. "Call for a bus!" Elliot nodded, barely registering what he said. He knew that he needed to move, do what Cragen asked him to do, but he couldn't. What if he left and she died? He wouldn't be able to take that.

"Elliot! Go!" Elliot nodded, reality bringing him to his senses. He forced his eyes away from Olivia's body and backed away towards the door. Just as he entered the hallway, he caught sight of a paramedic with a stretcher entering the room.

"Over here!" Elliot called, catching the man's eyes. The man was about to come forward when Sergeant Jabbers came running down the stairs, his face black with soot.

"I need a medic!" the paramedic looked at the two of them. Then turned to Sergeant Jabbers and said, "Another one will be here in a minute." The medic continued in the direction towards Elliot.

"He's not breathing!" The paramedic looked at Elliot, who really had to fight his desire to force this man to see Olivia, but Olivia could wait for the next paramedic, at least he hoped she could.

The paramedic gave Elliot a sympathetic look before following Sergeant Jabbers upstairs. Thankfully, the wait was not long, just as the paramedic had promised. He followed Elliot down the hall. At first he made a motion to go towards Morgan, but Elliot made sure to direct him to Olivia first. The man knelt down beside Olivia, checking her pulse and looking her over.

"Do you have keys to these cuffs?' He asked. Cragen nodded, pulling out the set that was common to all the cuffs used for the SVU and handing them to the paramedic. He gently took the cuffs off, and quickly cleaned the wounds before wrapping them hastily, but expertly, in gauze.

"How is she?" Elliot couldn't help but ask. The avoidance of any such answers was driving him crazy.

"It's too hard to tell. Her injuries will be investigated and monitored further when we get to the hospital." When the preliminary care was done, the paramedic lowered the stretcher so that it was at ground level. "I need one of you to support her feet." Elliot made a move to help, but Cragen was closer. Together, the paramedic and Cragen lifted Olivia's body and put her gently on the stretcher. After she was comfortably on, the paramedic raised the stretcher to its normal height and placed an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. Elliot couldn't help but notice how frail she looked. How vulnerable she had been over the last few hours.

"I'll send another paramedic in to look him over," the paramedic said, gesturing to Morgan's form.

Elliot wished he could tell the man not to worry about it, but he knew they were just doing their job. They couldn't choose who to save or who to let die. Every person was a patient, despite what they might have done.

"I'm sending Detective Elliot Stabler with her. He can answer any questions about her history," Cragen explained to Elliot's surprise. A look of understanding passed between the two for a moment, before Elliot followed the paramedic out of the room.

As they walked, Elliot felt like he was in some sort of a dream. The precinct was a mess. Nothing was in its right place, debris was everywhere, and there wasn't a single person sitting at one of the desks. It gave the impression almost of a freshly deserted ghost town.

The three of them headed out the front door and were almost down the front steps of the precinct before Munch and Fin caught sight of them.

"Elliot!" Elliot turned around to face them as Munch and Fin caught up with him. The paramedic meanwhile, took the opportunity to load Olivia up into the ambulance.

"Olivia?" Fin demanded as he watched the paramedic.

"I dunno," Elliot answered sorrowfully, wishing he could say something more optimistic.

"Are you riding?" The paramedic asked Elliot as he stepped out of the back. Elliot nodded before turning back to Munch and Fin.

"Go, we'll see if Cap needs our help and then be there as soon as we can," Fin explained.

"I'll call you if there's any change," Elliot called just before the doors slammed shut. As soon as they did, Elliot's attention turned to Olivia.

The bruises on her face really stood out in contrast to her white complexion and it scared him. He'd seen a number of victims, countless murders, rapes, and other acts of violence, but none of those cases seemed as horrible, or even relatable to how he felt looking down at Olivia's fragile form at this moment. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, but the condition of her wrists scared him. He was worried that he would somehow injure her more if he were to reach out and touch her.

The paramedic who had been working on her and analyzing Olivia's stats finally came to a stop to stare at him. The look in Elliot's eyes being too sentimental for a simple partner relationship became the basis to his question.

"Is she your wife?"

Elliot looked up at the paramedic, slightly surprised, but he didn't answer. Instead he changed the subject. "How is she?"

"Stable for right now. The concern right now is for the possibility for concussion. Can you tell me about any of these other injuries?" Elliot looked sadly down at where her shirt had slightly revealed a small section of her bruised stomach. He painfully gave a brief summary of the events that had transpired within the last few hours.

The paramedic nodded matter-of-factly, as if to agree that the story was consistent with her wounds. "Then we maybe looking at some broken ribs." Silence fell between the two men and Elliot kept his eyes focused on Olivia, relieved to just be near her and knowing that he could now protect her when he couldn't before. Elliot made a solemn problem with himself that Olivia would never be in a situation like that ever again. He was going to make his duty to protect her.

"How do you do it?" The paramedic's question caught Elliot by surprise and he shifted his gaze momentarily to the paramedic.

"Do what?" Elliot asked.

"You're SVU, right?" Elliot nodded. "You see beaten women and broken kids everyday. How do you do it?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Elliot said with a shrug turning his focus to Olivia.

"But only for a moment. I see them, but I don't get to know them. I don't always have time to listen to all their stories, nor do I have to deal with the people who put them in my care, at least most of the time."

Elliot looked over at Olivia. He really didn't know how he did it. It was hard. He knew he always told Olivia not to make it personal, but he knew that she couldn't help it. Every case was personal. Learning about the victims, or having to deal with some perves who deserved the death sentence get off free, few methods really remained for them to detach themselves from their victims.

"At the end of every day, you don't always catch the bad guy, but those times when you know you saved a child from abuse, or manage to put a rapist behind bars really makes up for all the down times." Elliot let the last of his words taper off to a whisper as he reached a hand to Olivia's forehead and gently pushed back her hair.

The paramedic watched Elliot as the ambulance began to slow. "Just remember, you can only do so much." The ambulance came to a stop and almost immediately the doors were thrown open. Elliot jumped out as the paramedic got behind the stretcher as he helped lower it towards the awaiting doctors waiting on the ground. As soon as the stretcher landed, the doctors began pushing the stretcher into the Emergency Room. Elliot tried to follow, but one of the doctors who noticed him pulled him aside.

"Let's get you cleaned up, detective."

"I'm fine," Elliot said, shrugging off the doctor and walking into the ER.

"Is she you're partner?"

"Yes."

"Well, I can assure you that she's in great care, but you won't be allowed in there while they check her out, so I suggest you use some of your waiting time to get cleaned up, okay?"

Elliot finally consented and followed the doctor towards the reception desk. "Mary, you got a examining room open?" The doctor asked one of the nurses at the desk.

"Sure do. Room six." The doctor nodded her thanks and was about to lead Elliot towards room six when the doors opened again wheeling another stretcher. Elliot recognized the man instantly. It was Morgan. Infuriated at the idea that these people were going to try and resuscitate such an evil man, Elliot jumped in front of the stretcher.

"Where are you taking him? This man does not deserve to be saved!" The doctors and nurses pushing the stretcher looked surprised.

"Sir, you need to get out of the way."

"This man is a criminal, not a patient."

"Sir, right now he's in our custody, not police custody. You need to move out of the way."

"Come along, Detective." Elliot allowed himself to be lead away from Morgan, but he watched him being led away with angry eyes. "Have a seat." Elliot blindly sat himself on one of the beds as the doctor investigated his injures.

"I take it that that was the man who injured your partner?" Elliot didn't say anything. "I know you probably think it's horrible that we have to treat everyone. Give everyone a chance to survive even if they don't deserve it, but everyone needs to have a chance to live. Some people actually learn their lesson from it." She reached for the rubbing alcohol and some gauze and cleaned the minor scrapes that covered his face.

"A few days ago we had a DUI in here. The guy was so wasted he crossed the median and hit a woman who was driving in the opposite direction. We did our best to save the women but she died an hour after she arrived here. The man survived with a minor concussion. He was in and out of consciousness the whole time though. Kept saying 'I'm sorry' over and over again. All the apologies in the world aren't going to bring the woman her life back, but it's fair to say that I think that man learned his lesson. Granted, he learned it the hard way and at the risk to someone else, but we can only hope that that'll mean he'll help teach someone else the easy way." She grabbed a Band-Aid and placed it over one of his deeper cuts. "All done."

"You're pretty optimistic for a doctor, who sees many people dying everyday," Elliot pointed out.

"You've got to be sometimes. If you let all the negative stuff overwhelm you, there won't be anyway to last a day in this job, but I'm sure I don't have to tell you that. I hope you're partner's okay. Have a good night, Detective." Elliot nodded and placed his head in his hands. No, she didn't have to tell him that, but it was getting harder and harder for Elliot to believe that at the moment.

Elliot was suddenly caught of guard by the vibrating of his phone. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled it out, figuring it was probably Cragen wanting an update. "Stabler."

"Daddy! Oh, thank God! I saw it on the news—Where are you? Are you okay?" Elliot instantly recognized the voice of his eldest daughter.

"Whoa, it's okay, Maureen. I'm at the hospital but I'm alright."

"What happened?" Elliot looked up and his eyes meet those of Captain Cragen, who had just entered the hospital.

"I don't have time to explain right now, honey, but I'll call you back later."

"Okay, Daddy. Bye."

"Bye, sweetie." Elliot slammed the lid to his flip phone and then walked over to Cragen.

"How you doing, El?" Cragen asked as soon as he walked over.

"I'm fine, but I haven't heard anything about Olivia." Cragen nodded distantly. Elliot could tell that he was worried.

"What happens now?" Elliot asked, anxious to do anything.

"We wait."


	9. Presence

A/N: Okay, so the story's starting to wind down now. I'm thinking that it'll probably be one more chapter. It's winter vacation now, so I'm finding fewer excuses to be delayed in posting. I hope to have the last chapter up within the next few days. Please don't hate me too much for this chapter. I know, I'm evil.

Once again, many many many thanks to all my reviewers. I'm going to take the time to recognize them all now, and I hope to see any new and returning readers to be added to my last. Happy Holidays to all!

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**Candy Canes to all!**

Chapter 9

Elliot fucking hated the waiting game. That was the game that he had to play while he watched his partner be a prisoner of a psycho and almost everyday on the job while trying to crack a case. There was always waiting, and he hated it. Munch and Fin had arrived shortly after Cragen did. They'd made numerous attempts to offer Elliot food and coffee, but to no avail. It was probably good though. Elliot certainly didn't need any more fuel to encourage his pacing. Cragen meanwhile was on and off the phone making arrangements to get the station cleaned up.

Three hours had passed since Olivia had been brought in and nobody had given them any word on her condition. Munch would have punched Elliot for not sitting down a long time ago, but he knew how upset Elliot was at the moment and the chance of any of them calming him down was slim. A steady click of a woman's shoes came towards the group of men, but unfortunately, from the wrong direction.

"Casey," Cragen said, standing up to meet the District Attorney. She was dressed in jeans for once, which seemed very out of place to her dress suites, but at the same time just as flattering. Her shoulder length reddish-brown hair fell to her shoulders in a sleek fashion, just as it normally did; not a single strand out of place.

"It's all over the news. Is Olivia okay?" Casey demanded. Elliot stopped his pacing upon her arrival.

"We haven't heard anything yet," Munch responded.

"Detectives?" The whole group turned around to face a woman in a white coat. Her brown hair was tied back in a tight French braid. She stood with a clip board in hand.

"I'm Captain Don Cragen, head of the Special Victims Unit. How is she?" Cragen said introducing himself. The others stood up and gathered around him, waiting for an answer.

"I'm Dr. Tracy Fisk, head of surgery," she said introducing herself. "Ms. Benson had several broken ribs that were set, some lacerations on her wrists that needed stitches, as well as a concussion." She paused as if preparing how to say what she had to say next. "We've been unable to determine the severity of her concussion. X-rays shows that she suffered significant head trauma, however, there is nothing to make us believe that any motor functions were affected by this injury, but the next twenty-four hours will tell us more of what we can expect when she wakes up."

"What do you mean what to expect?" Elliot demanded trying to see through the doctor's carefully chosen words.

Dr. Fisk sighed. "With this kind of injury, there are many things that can affect recovery. A blood clot or even bleed outs are not so uncommon with this sort of injury, but would be detrimental if not caught in time." Eliot's eyes went wide, but she rushed on. "We're monitoring her very closely, and at this moment, we have no reason to believe that they might be an issue."

"Say none of that happens, what can we expect after the twenty-four hours are up?" Munch asked.

Dr. Fisk gave a slight nod. "Assuming nothing happens, there's a very good chance there will be a full recovery. However, even in the event that nothing happens, there is still a chance for various forms of amnesia or in extreme cases, a coma."

"But this is not an extreme case," Cragen struggled to clarify and wipe the looks of horror off his companions faces as well as calm his own sense of anxiety.

Dr. Fisk gave them a sad smile. "I can give you a more positive outlook when the twenty-four hours are up, but not before then, I'm sorry."

"Where is she?" Elliot's question was almost at a whisper, so quiet that even he was surprised that anyone heard it.

"Fifth floor, ICU. Just tell the people at the desk who you are." Cragen muttered a thank-you as Dr. Fisk walked away. Meanwhile, Elliot already took the initiative to summon the elevator. A high pinched ring announced its arrival and Elliot immediately stepped in. Munch and Fin made a move to go forward, but Cragen held them back.

"We'll take the next one," Cragen stated, despite the fact that Elliot was the only occupant in the elevator. Cragen gave Elliot a look almost as an approving father. Elliot, though slightly confused, gave an expression of thanks anyway, the elevator doors closing before he could say another word.

The strain of the pulleys echoed loudly in the elevator mixed with the intermittent beeps announcing the passing of each floor. The elevator pulled to a stop and Elliot took a deep breath before stepping out.

9999

Dr. Stratham carefully adjusted his name tag over his left breast pocket so that it could easily be seen by anyone who walked by him. He had just completed his residency and wore his white coat proudly. He placed a black gel pen in the pocket underneath his name tag, slung his stethoscope around his neck, and closed the door to his locker. The twenty other lockers vibrated and reverberated a sound equivalent to a smack of a snare drum. Dr. Stratham walked over to the rectangular mirror that hung over a small white sink and checked his hair. He had long thick black curls that often protruded from his head in a disorderly manner. Today, he thought the wildness suited him. It made him look more mature. He smiled at his reflection, but then quickly turned around, startled. He had just caught a glimpse of someone entering the room, but when he turned around, no one was there.

He swallowed with uncertainty. His locker was located in the middle row that served as an island or barrier to the lockers located on either side of the walls.

"Hello?" Dr. Stratham called. He waited expectantly for an answer. If it was another doctor, he would immediately expect a reply, but none came. He shrugged with unease. He could easily push it out of his mind and say that he had just imagined it, but he really believed he had seen someone enter the room. It didn't matter anyway, he realized looking at his watch. It was time for his rounds.

Dr. Stratham made his way towards the door when he suddenly felt something catch him by the ankles and the ground quickly rose up to meet him. Before he knew what happened, the world went dark around him.

9999

Elliot looked through the glass with a feeling of déjà vu. The ICU was one large room with many beds. Each bed gained its solitude with a flimsy blue curtain. Elliot found himself back at the station watching Olivia helplessly. Her curtain remained open. He could see her limp form resting there, a white bandage wrapped around her head. If he didn't know everything that had happened to her, he could almost see it as a halo.

Needing now more than ever to be by her side, Elliot reached for the door and walked into the room taking a steady pace to her bedside. He paused there for a moment looking at her. She looked the same as before. The black eye hadn't been visible from where he stood, but it didn't make her look any less of an angel.

The white bandage covered most of hair and successfully kept it away from her brow. Her eyes remained shut. A white sheet covered her body and hid her other wounds. Elliot wished he could imagine that they weren't there, that the whole night had never happened, but it did, and Olivia was proof of that.

Elliot reached over and gently took her hand. He just held it for a moment, relishing in the closeness for a moment. Her hands lacked warmth, but somehow remained soft and almost delicate despite their line of work. He carefully brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Then, ever so tenderly he pulled her fingers away from her palm and placed it next to his gruff cheek and held it there.

Elliot remembered reading somewhere that sometimes, even in sleep; people could hear you when you speak to them. He hoped some truth existed in those words because if he didn't talk to her and let her know how sorry he was, he would never forgive himself. He already questioned his ability to protect her as a partner and as a friend after everything that happened. He would do everything in his power to see that something like this never happened again, but seeing how Morgan had gotten around his watchful eyes and had specifically targeted Olivia, he wondered if it were possible to protect anyone any more.

"Olivia," he whispered, hoping that maybe she might in some way acknowledge his presence there, but her expression remained unchanged. "Olivia, you're so strong. You don't see many women out there doing what you do, but you take whatever is thrown at you and you fight back two-fold." Elliot closed his eyes. "I need you to be strong, keep fighting, Liv. I keep feeling like I let you down. You're not Superwoman, as much as you try to be," Elliot mumbled with affection, focusing on the touch of her hand as he spoke.

"You fought the whole time, Liv, and all I did was watch," Elliot pulled her hand away from his face as if punishing himself. "Don't—" Elliot whispered not even able to murmur the words. "Just don't— You have to let me make it up to you. Never again, Liv. Never again…" Elliot tried hard to keep the moisture in his eyes. He once again placed a gentle kiss on her hand before putting her hand back on her stomach gently.

Olivia remained silent and unresponsive the whole time. Elliot subconsciously allowed his thumb to travel over the plains, ridges and valleys of her hand. Before he even realized it or could stop himself the pools in his eyes over flowed as a steady river formed down his cheeks and disappeared in between the valley of her hand.

9999

Dr. Stratham stood up and brushed off his coat before once again adjusting his name tag. He glanced at the ground and found his stethoscope lying against the lockers. He bent down and picked it up and then double-checked his reflection in the mirror. Despite his moment of clumsiness, he looked good, and no one would ever know what took place. Dr. Stratham gave one last satisfied look in the mirror before making his way into the hall.

With a well placed smiled, he went up to the nurse's station and began to rummage through the charts there like he belonged there, like he did this all the time. Not finding the chart he was looking for, he looked up and his eyes met up with those of one of the female nurses working at the desk.

"Can I help you, Doctor?" She inquired, not even bother to look at his name tag. In fact, she only looked up long enough to ask the question before turning her attention back to the computer.

"I was asked to be a consultant to a patient's file, but I don't see her chart here," he said, still keeping his smile large for her benefit.

"Name?" the nurse asked, still not noticing any of his advances, or blatantly ignoring them, he couldn't be sure.

"Olivia Benson."

"S-O-N?" she asked.

"Yes." He tried desperately to keep the excitement out of his eyes, but he wasn't sure whether or not he fully succeeded, thankfully, she didn't seem to notice.

"She's in the ICU. Her chart's with them,' the nurse replied without even looking up. He felt his smile fade a notch. He needed to play this a little more carefully.

"Sorry, I'm new. Where's the ICU located?" The nurse gave him an odd look and glanced briefly at his nametag. He wondered if she knew him or he was supposed to know her, but she didn't seem to give any sign that she did.

"Upstairs, fifth floor." Dr. Stratham nodded his thanks. He didn't notice the confused look she gave to his back, as if something had just transpired that made her uncomfortable. However, a few seconds later the alarm went off signaling that someone was going into cardiac arrest and the meeting with Dr. Stratham slipped out of her mind.

9999

Elliot looked at his phone, startled by the interruption. His hand had not left Olivia's from the moment he took a seat by her side. The sound of the ringing however caused his hand to shoot quickly from hers to his phone so that he would not obstruct the silence of the room.

"Stabler." He stood up and turned away from Olivia briefly.

"This is Dr. Stratham calling from the Emergency Room where Olivia Benson was admitted. Are you still at the hospital?"

"Yes," Elliot answered, his brow furrowing in confusion. He thought Dr. Fisk was Olivia's doctor.

"We just need to have you verify some paperwork on her admittance. Do you think you could come down here, it'll only take a moment?" Elliot glanced at Olivia, not having any desire to leave her side. "I'm really sorry, but I promise it won't take long. It's just a few signatures."

"Alright, I'll be right there." Elliot slammed the lid to his phone closed and bent down to give Olivia a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving the room.

9999

Cragen, Casey, Munch, and Fin stood in the elevator on their way up to the fifth floor. Cragen felt he'd given Elliot enough alone time with Olivia. Once Munch and Fin got the opportunity to see her, he would suggest that they all go home and get some rest. It would take a lot of coaxing for Elliot, but he needed the sleep most of all.

"What's the situation with Morgan?" Casey asked as they passed the third floor.

"As far as I know he's in the examining room. They won't let us place a man in there, so I told them to call me as soon as he is moved to a private room." Casey nodded thoughtfully. The elevator gently surged up before settling back down at the entrance to the fifth floor. With a quick gentle "bing" the doors opened and they stepped out onto the floor in the direction of the receptionist's desk.

"Captain Cragen of Special Victims Unit, I'm here to see one of my detectives, Olivia Benson," he said, flashing his badge for verification.

"Right in there," she said, pointing to the glass room to her left. "No more than two at a time, though, I'm sorry." Cragen nodded his understanding.

"Munch, Fin," Cragen said with a quick gesture of his head towards the room.

"You sure, Cap?" Fin asked.

"Yeah, just don't take too long," Cragen said jokingly. Munch waved him off before heading into the room.

Munch and Fin walked over to Olivia's bedside and did a quick intake of breath. They didn't know the extent of her injuries. They hadn't seen everything she went through, but what they could see, horrified them.

"What did he do to you, baby girl?" Fin asked affectionately taking the hand Elliot had been treasuring and holding it in his own.

"You're going to get better and we're going to see that this guy goes away for a long time," Munch said while placing his hand gently on her shoulder.

"He won't get away with this," Fin agreed gently running circles with his thumb on the top of her hand. "He won't touch you again."

9999

"I'm sorry, Sir, but we didn't make any call to your cell phone," one of the nurses at the station on the first floor protested.

"The call wasn't made by a nurse. It was made by a doctor; Dr. Stratham," Elliot said slightly flustered. _So much for only taking a moment_, Elliot thought. Once he reached the nurse's station on the first floor, they kept giving him the same story. No one had made a call to his cell phone and there were no forms for him to fill out.

"Detective." Elliot looked up into the eyes of Dr. Fisk with recognition and relief. "What can I do for you?"

"I was told to come down here by a Dr. Stratham. He said some paper work needed to be filled out for Oliv—Detective Benson," Elliot said quickly correcting himself.

Dr. Fisk looked at him with confusion. "I'm Detective Benson's primary doctor. There are no papers for you to fill out. There must have been some misunderstanding. Dr. Stratham should never have seen her chart." An icy chill suddenly traveled down his spine and he paled.

"Detective, are you alright?" Dr. Fisk asked.

"Tell me, does a Dr. Stratham actually work here?" Elliot asked his expression urgent.

"Yes, actually, he just finished his residency," Dr. Fisk reassured. "There must have been some misplacement with her chart. It's nothing to be concerned about." Elliot liked to believe that but something didn't feel quite right.

He fumbled for his cell phone, searched through the history and held the number up in front of Dr. Fisk's nose. "Is this a number within the hospital?"

Dr. Fisk took the phone from Elliot's hand and looked at the number closely, thinking. "Yes, it's the number for one of the pay phones. They all have three-nine-four as the second set of numbers." She glanced at the number puzzled. "Why would he call from a pay phone? The phones at the desk are free."

Elliot felt his heart stop. None of this made sense. It seemed like a ploy; a way of luring Elliot from Olivia's room. _Morgan_, Elliot realized with horror. Without another moment's hesitation he grabbed his cell phone back from Dr. Fisk and ran to the elevators, frantically pushing the up button. Dr. Fisk was yelling something at him but he had no idea what.

"Call security!" Elliot shouted back. "Get security to the fifth floor now!" The door opened and Elliot rushed in while dialing his phone. He hoped Cragen by now, had already reached Olivia's room and that she wasn't alone up there. He pushed the button for the fifth floor and waited. Seconds later an automated message came on.

"I'm sorry, but the number you're trying to reach is currently in use. If you would like—" Elliot shut his phone angrily and opened it again. _Come on Capt, get off the phone!_ Elliot pushed the redial button but got the same message and the elevator had just passed the second floor. _Who the hell is he talking to?_

9999

Morgan turned gently around the corner. He could see from where he stood two figures heading for the door of the ICU. As soon as they were outside, they met out with a short balding man and a pretty woman with reddish brown hair. He didn't understand why so many people were here. He looked down at Olivia's cell phone which he had found with the help of one of the nurses in an inpatient storage room. He wished he knew who this man was, because from where he stood, it looked like he intended to enter the room. He had to assume that he might recognize him.

Just then the tall skinny man with glasses called out as he and the black man walked away, "Hey Cap, can we get you anything?" The balding man shook his head and the other two men continued on their way. Morgan opened the phone eagerly and scrolled down Olivia's contact list. He paused over the name "Cragen." He seemed to remember that name. He thought over the time he had spent at the office as a lock smith. "Captain Don Cragen" was actually his full title, if he remembered correctly from the name plate on his door. That would mean the other guy's usage of "Cap" most likely was in reference to Cragen. With a smile he opened Olivia's phone and pulled up the number while he inserted some coins into the nearest pay phone. He watched in satisfaction as Cragen answered his phone.

"Cragen."

"Hi, Don Cragen?" Morgan confirmed in order to further his ploy.

"Yes, and this is?"

"This is Dr. Stratham from the ER. We need to discuss the procedure you want to take to secure a Mister Gregory Morgan. If you could come down to the first floor immediately we'll get everything taken care of." Morgan watched as Cragen nodded and covered his hand over the phone in order to whisper something to the woman standing next to him before making his way to the elevators.

"Alright, I'll be right down." Morgan hung up and waited till Cragen had entered the elevator before appearing. The woman meanwhile had already taken the opportunity to walk into the ICU. Morgan gritted his teeth. It would take too much time and be too difficult to try and lead this unknown woman away. He needed to act now. If this woman recognized him, he would just have to kill her.

Morgan felt his hand tighten on the syringe in his pocket. Yes, he was going to take care of Olivia Benson once and for all. She had lied to him and deceived him too many times. It was all going to end now.

9999

"Can I help you?" A nurse asked Cragen at the nurse's station on the first floor.

"Yes, I'm looking for a Dr. Stratham." The nurse gave Cragen a funny look.

"Dr. Stratham? You're sure?" She asked in a sort of disbelief.

"Yes, I'm sure. Why? Is there a problem?"

"No, there's no problem. Just Dr. Stratham apparently called another man down here a few minutes ago, but he's scheduled to work the second floor."

Cragen raised an eyebrow. "What man?"

"I'm not sure, he didn't give me his name," the nurse said thoughtfully. "But he was inquiring about a patient's file. A, um, Olivia Benson, I think."

Cragen's eyes widened at the news. "Tall man, short dark hair, sorta long tan forehead?"

The nurse thought for a moment. "Sounds about right."

_Elliot_, Cragen realized, _but why would a doctor summon them both here and then not be here himself?_ Something felt off, but Cragen had to attend to Morgan at the moment. Once he did that, he could find Elliot and straighten things out.

"Well, I was just informed that Gregory Morgan was just finished being examined. Could you tell me what room he's in please?" The nurse went over to the computer and let her fingers fly across the keys.

"Room 135, down that hall to your right," the nurse said pointing down a long white corridor.

"Thank you." Cragen turned away from the desk and headed down the hall. He paused in front of the room, preparing himself to face the man who had put one of his best detectives in a hospital bed four floors up. He knew he kept telling Elliot to contain himself and to keep his cool, but would he fully understand the reasoning behind his own words when he found himself alone with the man? With a deep breath he placed his hand on the door knob and turned it.

The room was small, a one person room, just like he'd requested. A heart monitor reflected the life that unfortunately existed within Morgan, but what was peculiar was that Cragen couldn't see Morgan himself. The same hospital issued white sheets that existed on Olivia's bed were present on Morgan's, except, they had been pulled completely over Morgan's head.

Cragen walked over to Morgan's bed with a feeling of foreboding. He didn't know what to expect when he reached the blanket, but he knew for some reason, he wasn't going to like it. With a slow movement his fingers closed around the gruff sheets and he yanked it away, from what would be Morgan's face. Cragen's eyes quickly scanned the man laying there and felt his blood run cold. Without a sound he pushed the red emergency button on the wall by the bedside. Seconds later a nurse appeared.

"What's wrong?" The nurse asked walking over to check the patient over. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, bringing her hand to her mouth in surprise. "Dr. Stratham!" she said, immediately recognizing the dark curly hair.

"This is Dr. Stratham?" Cragen cried in disbelief. The nurse nodded in horror as she bent down and felt his pulse.

"He's alive," she said with visible relief.

"There was supposed to be another man in this room; Gregory Morgan. Where is he?" Cragen demanded urgently.

"I don't know. I thought they brought him in here a couple of hours ago," the nurse stated as she began looking over Dr. Stratham for any visible wounds.

"A couple of hours ago!" Cragen repeated angrily. "But I was supposed to be informed--" Cragen froze. If Morgan had been brought into the room two hours ago, odds were that the real Dr. Stratham had not made that call to his cell phone or Elliot's cell phone, which meant that Morgan was somewhere in the hospital posing as Dr. Stratham.

"I need you to contact hospital security and send them to the ICU," Cragen said, looking the nurse right in the eyes so he instantly knew whether or not she understood his instructions. "I also need you to send out an alert to all floors. There is a man by the name of Gregory Morgan posing as Dr. Stratham. He must be apprehended immediately but by security only. He's to be considered dangerous." Cragen grabbed a magazine that had been on the desk and quickly scribbled in the white area around a model's face. "If you see him, call this number and then call security, is that clear?" The nurse nodded. Cragen didn't hesitate a moment longer. If Morgan had gone through all the trouble to bring him and Elliot down here, he must have only one target: Olivia.

9999

Casey Novak looked in surprise as a doctor in a white coat came to the other side of Olivia's bed. She hadn't heard anyone enter the room. She studied him for a moment. He actually didn't have the look of a doctor. His blond hair was cut short, military style and close to his head. Even the white lab coat he wore didn't look fitted to his muscular figure. The sleeves were short and revealed a good portion of his wrists while sections of cloth around the biceps seemed to pull at the seams of his every movement.

"I'm sorry, we haven't met. I'm Casey Novak," she said stretching out with her hand for him to shake it. He looked at it dismissively as he walked to the front of Olivia's stretcher and began pulling it away from the wall.

"Nice to meet you, I'm sure." Without any regard to whether or not Casey stood in the way, the doctor began pushing Olivia's bed from its resting position as Casey was forced to jump backwards to avoid being hit.

"Excuse me, but I thought her primary doctor was Dr. Fisk Where are you taking her?" Casey asked slightly alarmed.

"Dr. Fisk asked me to take her to have some x-rays done. Will only take a moment," the doctor said over his shoulder wheeling towards the door. Casey hurried to the side of the stretcher.

"I'd feel better if I accompanied—"

"No!" he interrupted, a little too harshly it seemed for as he did a full turn to face her he caused her to step back in surprise. "I mean," he recovered, "you're not allowed to be in the room and the procedure will only take a moment."

"Okay," Casey said with uncertainty as she glanced at the doctor's name tag. He followed her gaze briefly and then looked into her eyes, relieved to see no signs of recognition. It would make things move more smoothly if she didn't recognize him. He paused to open the doors before rolling the stretcher out. Casey watched him move Olivia's stretcher down the hall, turn a corner, and disappear down the next hallway, all while repeating the doctor's name in her head. _Dr. Stratham…_


	10. The Baby Girl

A/N: Wow, okay, so here it is. The final chapter. Thank you all so much for reviewing. You all have been so great, and so patient in waiting for my posting. I wish you all a happy New Year! Thanks so much, again!

Chapter 10

If Elliot had any idea where the freaking stairs were, he would have taken them in a heart beat. The elevator had already stopped at every floor between the second and fifth, which in retrospect would have been nothing if he didn't believe some maniac was trying to kill his partner right at this moment. As soon as the elevator settled on the fifth floor and the doors opened, Elliot nearly sprinted to the ICU where he anxiously searched for Olivia through the glass. When he spied the empty space where Olivia's bed had been he lost it.

"Where is she? Where is my partner? Detective Olivia Benson, she's not there!" Elliot shouted on his way to the nurse's station.

"Detective, I'm going to have to ask—"

"Tell me where she is!" Elliot yelled back.

"Elliot! Calm down!" Elliot turned around and looked over at Casey who seemed a little unsettled by his behavior. "Dr. Stratham took her to have some x-rays done."

Elliot felt his heart stop. He urgently grabbed Casey by the arms and looked her in the eyes. "Casey, did you see where he took her? Tell me you saw where he took her."

Casey could feel the way Elliot's hand shook as they held her, his eyes were desperate, pleading for an answer. Casey thought about asking him the source of his anxiety, but thought better of it as she acknowledged his sense of urgency. "Down that hall and then they turned the corner. I didn't see where they went after that." Elliot looked to where she pointed and immediately proceeded to follow in that direction. Casey took a step forward with the intention of following Elliot when Cragen suddenly ran to her side.

"Olivia?" Cragen demanded.

"Elliot just went after her. What's going on?" Casey demanded.

"Which way did he go?" Cragen asked. Casey pointed in the same direction she showed Elliot.

"Stay here and if Munch and Fin show up send them after us," Cragen said ignoring Casey's question.

"Don—" Cragen stopped and turned around.

"Morgan's posing as Dr. Stratham." Casey's eyes went wide.

"What!"

"Casey, if there was more time I'd explain." Casey nodded, stunned as Cragen too rushed down the hall.

10101010

Morgan stood posed over Olivia. It was too easy it seemed. She couldn't protest or fight back; she remained still, almost waiting. He supposed he had to relish in the fact that the time they spent together at the precinct would be adequate enough in terms of their battling wills, but that didn't seem sufficient enough. She never admitted that she wronged him and his family. She never admitted that she lied to the court when she named his father as the man she believed killed his mother. He needed to hear it from her. If he killed her now all his work at the precinct would be worthless, the effort he made to talk to her would be a waste of time. He needed to hear her say those words.

Morgan shuffled over to the cabinet of the vacant room he found and began searching all the little glass bottles. The majority of them were filled with a clear liquid, but the names on the labels of what the liquid was meant nothing to him until he stumbled on a bottle labeled as "L-adrenaline." He didn't know that adrenaline could be made into a drug, but he figured if it naturally got a person's heart pumping, then it might serve as a sufficient way to wake somebody up. He pulled the syringe he had found earlier in a storage closet out of his pocket and took it out of its plastic wrapping.

A small pop emitted as he removed the plastic covering from the needle and tossed it carelessly onto the counter. He stuck the needle into the designated slot on the bottle and filled half of the syringe with it. Then he removed the bottle and set it on the counter. He brought the needle up to nose level and watched in satisfaction as a thin stream of liquid shot out as the air bubble disappeared. With slow menacing steps, he approached Olivia's side, the syringe at the ready in his right hand. He went to Olivia's right arm, and without any regard for a vein he shoved the needle in at the joint on the underside of her arm. Once he emptied all the contents of the syringe, he stepped back and waited.

It took about a full minute, but Morgan watched, satisfied, as her heartbeat on the monitor began to increase. Another minute went by and her eyes shot wide open as her head lifted several inches off the pillow before plopping back down. She was breathing heavily and her heart rate beeped frantically on the monitor.

"Olivia," Morgan said with pleasure.

Olivia looked over at him, fear in her eyes as she struggled to gauge the situation while simultaneously struggling for breath. She tried to focus on where she was and why she might be there, but she didn't seem to be able to focus on anything but her breathing.

"What—What did you do?" Olivia rasped out.

"Just needed to get you awake," Morgan replied happily. He smiled and sat down on the bed next to her like nothing was wrong. "I thought about killing you, Detective, but I thought I'd give you one last chance to try to clear your name, so to speak."

"I have—have nothing to—to say to y—you," Olivia gasped. Her heart raced. She could almost feel it beating against her ribcage as if it wanted out. Almost as rapidly, it seemed, her lungs struggled to keep up, but she didn't know if she could. She started to feel dizzy with all the effort it was taking her to breathe or maybe it was the lack of oxygen when she couldn't keep up with her lungs.

Morgan's smile faded. He leaned over her and placed his hands on either side of her so his stomach rested inches above her own while he still remained sitting on the edge of the bed. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to her symptoms. "Say that you made a mistake, Detective. Tell me you killed an innocent man when you put him in jail. Tell me you're responsible for the rape of my mother and sister."

Olivia closed her eyes hard and opened them. Her chest was heaving so hard now it almost touched Morgan's and the effort was quickly exhausting her, but she took in a quick deep breath so her sentence would hold strength and some resemblance of confidence. "I stand by my decision and I won't change it without evidence; which is something you don't have."

Just as Olivia finished speaking, the sounds of the door knob struggling against the lock that restrained its motion reached both their ears. Morgan shot off the bed looking furious.

"Olivia!" The jingling was replaced by banging and Elliot's calls. Olivia shifted her eyes towards the door, feeling slightly relieved. Once Elliot got in here she would be safe. He would put an end to all this.

Morgan meanwhile, disappeared from her view as he dropped to the floor. He arose again with the same syringe in hand, this time he pulled back the plunger and filled the syringe with nothing but air. He reached for Olivia's arm, but this time she pulled it away just as three gun shots, perfectly aimed at the edge of the door around the lock, rang out. Then, a sharp pressure from the outside caused the wood to splinter and the door burst open.

Elliot appeared, his gun aimed at Morgan's chest. Cragen stood beside him, his gun poised as well. It would be so easy for Elliot to just shoot. Take the shot, end this mess for ever. Get complete payback for everything he did to Olivia, everything he put her through. "Freeze!" Cragen shouted. Morgan just smiled at them, almost as if he knew this when it ended, but instead of giving up, he seemed to be laughing at them.

Elliot saw him reach for Olivia's arm. She struggled to pull it away, but Elliot noticed she seemed to have trouble breathing. The next thing he knew, Olivia's eyes rolled up into her head and she fell motionless against the bed. As a result, Morgan successfully gaining power in the struggle for her arm, forced the needle into her arm once again, but before he could press the plunger Elliot fired right into Morgan's knee cap.

To be a cop, no one is trained on how to take a kill shot. Everyone knows where to aim for that. Instead, the art becomes on learning where to hit to injure and slow the criminal down so that there will still be something left of him to testify in court. Criminals even have the opportunity to decide where they'll be hit, depending on their behavior. A shot in the calf or thigh is non-fatal but efficient in slowing the perp down. A shot in the chest, though normally not available, is often a desperate move, as is a shot in the back. The head, despite the value of points given at the shooting range, is never shot at because an officer never shoots to kill. However, the knee cap is usually struck one of three ways.

The knee cap is usually an accidental target, where the criminal made some movement that threw off the attempted shot at the thigh or calf. It can also be a desperate target like the stomach, but most of the time, it's a shot no cop takes unless they want the criminal to really feel pain. The majority of shots taken at the knee result in some sort of handicap for the criminal for the rest of his days where he gets to suffer every minute of his life; every time that he moves. They didn't teach the shooting of the knee cap at the academy, but every attendee knew about it. It was neither encouraged nor discouraged, but it was understood that if a cop used that shot, then the perp deserved it.

Elliot took that shot for pain. Cragen knew it and Elliot knew it. Elliot could be suspended or sent to a few evaluations with Huang or suffer any other punishment Cragen might have planned for him when all this was over, but he knew he never would regret making Morgan scream. The man was a Marine, yet he laid withering on the floor in blood, holding his knee and screaming and howling like an animal. Elliot was completely disgusted.

As if the noise in the room wasn't loud enough, an alarm began to sound. At first Elliot wasn't sure what it was, but a quick look at Olivia's monitor showed that her heart stopped. All thoughts of Morgan suddenly dropped out of his mind as he ran over to the side of the bed. He frantically hit the red emergency button at the side of the bed before he tilted his ear so it lay against her chest, listening for the sound of breathing. There was no sound. His heart was pounding so loud he could barely be sure he heard right, but her chest lacked the normal rising and falling that accompanied healthy breaths.

He anxiously searched for a way to lower the stretcher so that he could get her in a good position to start compressions. His hand must have just grazed the button, for the backing slid down with an unmonitored clang that caused Olivia's body to bounce against the force before she fell steadily on her back. He tilted her head back gently, pulled down her jaw, closed her nostrils by applying pressure with his thumb and pointer finger, and took a deep breath with his own lungs before placing his lips to hers and breathing the air he had collected in his mouth into hers.

He watched her chest rise with force of his air and then he removed his hands from her face and began compressions. He kept the counts to himself in between breaths and compressions.

"Come on, come on," he grunted as he did compressions, keeping one eye on her heart monitor. "Where's the nurse?"

Elliot looked over as Cragen stood up out of breath. He looked past the Captain and saw Morgan sitting handcuffed in a chair, his knee bleeding furiously. He gave them angry glares in between groans of pain. For a moment, Elliot saw Olivia sitting in that chair, the glare directed at him, but in one quick blink, the image disappeared and he continued compressions.

Cragen ran into the hall and caught sight of a nurse hurrying towards the room. "We need a doctor!"

"Go to the nurse's station. Tell them to get a doctor here right away," the nurse said as she came into the room. Cragen nodded and with a quick look at Elliot disappeared down the hall.

"How long have you been doing compressions?" the nurse demanded while glancing at the monitors to get a feel for the situation.

"Three, maybe four minutes tops," Elliot responded, sounding a little out of breath, but with no intention of stopping. Confident that she had a good judgment of Olivia's stats, the nurse began rifling through the cabinets. She finally closed one with an air bag and a clear plastic tube in a plastic bag in hand. She ripped the plastic off the sterile tube and came to Elliot's side. As soon as he breathed air into Olivia's lungs she tapped his shoulder. "Switch out." Elliot didn't move. He immediately began compressions, as if he couldn't stop.

"Sir, you need to let me take it from here," the nurse told him. Elliot finished his cycle of compressions and then backed away. The nurse immediately went to Olivia's head. With the head tilted back she used the lighting in the room and maneuvered the tube past the vocal cords in a direct path to her lungs. With the tube in place, she immediately attached the bag to the end of the tube and with two hands began a systematic squeezing and releasing of the bag with both hands working together.

"Can you tell me what happened?" the nurse demanded.

Elliot tore his eyes away from Olivia to look at the nurse. "I'm not sure, he had a syringe…" His eyes landed on Olivia again. He'd failed her. Morgan had played them all and he'd fallen for it, again. He'd never felt so guilty. Unable to help her once had been bad enough, but to fail her twice…

"…on the counter." Elliot looked at the nurse confused. He'd just caught the end of what she'd been trying to say. Elliot looked over at the counter and saw a small glass bottle sitting there. From this distance, it looked half empty. He went over and picked it up. "What's it say?"

"L-Adrenaline," Elliot read. The label meant nothing to him, but the nurse raised an eyebrow in alarm. Before Elliot could ask her about it, Cragen entered the room with Dr. Fisk.

"Stats?" Dr. Fisk demanded without greeting.

"Looks like an overdose of Adrenaline. BP is 170/120," the nurse replied.

"Shit, we need to slow her heart down," Dr. Fisk said heading for the cabinets. She looked at the various bottles and finally looked at one in satisfaction and pulled a syringe out of the drawer. She unwrapped the syringe and uncapped the needle before filling the syringe with the liquid. She quickly went over to Olivia's IV line and dispelled the plunger and removed her stethoscope from around her neck while at the same time keeping an eye on her heart monitor.

Elliot and Cragen watched on, neither aware of the presence of another as they waited. The hope in waiting was the only thing keeping their sanity. Time seemed to slow as the doctor spoke to the nurse, their words seemed unable to register in Elliot's ears, or maybe he just couldn't translate the reality of their words in his mind, he wasn't sure. What he knew was that she couldn't die. He realized now, with all his heart, he couldn't watch her die. Not because of the guilt or just because she was his friend but because he loved her. He truly loved her.

He loved her smile that greeted him in the morning as she handed him her coffee. Sometimes he thought her smile was what got him through the day rather than the coffee. He needed her support. She remained his strong hold on tough cases or even in his personal life. Many people had some haven that they turned to in their job or daily life when things got rough; a sort of vacation without ever leaving the room. She was his.

Elliot snapped to attention as the heart monitor no longer beeped mountains but showed a flat plane with one consistent unmoving line.

"Get the cart!" Dr. Fisk shouted at the nurse. "Detective, I need you to take the bag," Dr. Fisk ordered Elliot. Elliot hesitated for only a minute.

"Every three seconds," the nurse instructed while placing his hands properly on the bag before leaving the room. Elliot felt his hands shake as he did what the nurse told him. He watched her face, hoping that miraculously she would wake up and everything would be okay again, but her face remained unchanged. In fact, her face seemed a few degrees paler than remembered, for her lips and hair seemed unnaturally bright compared to her skin.

"One, two, three, squeeze. One, two, three, squeeze. One…" Elliot found himself whispering.

"Hang in there, Detective," Dr. Fisk said meeting Elliot's eyes in sympathy. A second later the nurse came running in pulling a large metal cart with a small computer available to request the level of voltage and two paddles to transfer the voltage. Munch, Fin, and Casey entered the room as well. The nurse handed Dr. Fisk the paddles as she quickly rubbed some gel on them with gloved hands.

"What's going—"

"Charge!"

"Stop air flow when I say clear."

"Charged."

"Clear!" Dr. Fisk put the paddles to Olivia's chest and pushed a small button located on the paddles. Elliot released his hands from the bag and watched in hopeful horror as Olivia's body jumped a few centimeters off the stretcher before settling down again. A quick spike showed on the monitor as a result of the shock, but once again settled down to a flat line. Elliot put his hands back on the bag and continued squeezing.

"One, two, three—"

"Clear!" Olivia's heart rate spiked once again, but she fell back onto the stretcher again. Elliot resumed his position again waiting for the machine to charge.

"Come on Liv," he whispered as he squeezed. "Fight it."

"Clear!" Olivia's body shot up off the stretcher once again as all looked hopefully at the heart monitor. The constant buzzing of the monitor was suddenly replaced with a regular beating. Dr. Fisk removed her stethoscope once again and placed it to Olivia's chest to confirm the readings. Elliot was so excited he forgot to resume his place at the bag. As a result, the nurse gently pushed him out of the way, and took his place as Elliot backed away in relief. He knew that it wasn't over yet, but her making it this far was great progress, or at least he thought so.

"Now that you've finished wasting your time on a dirty cop, would you take a look at my fucking knee?" Morgan cried from his seat in the chair. It almost seemed like everyone in the room glared at him for what he said but it was Elliot who acted on it. He ran over to him and began punching him as hard as he could. For thirty seconds, no body moved. No one made any attempt to pull Elliot off, but too soon, it seemed, Cragen and Fin grabbed Elliot's arms and pulled him away.

"Son of a bitch!" Morgan screamed his face bloody. It looked like Elliot had sufficiently broken Morgan's nose, for it was bleeding profusely. Elliot glanced down at his knuckles and noticed they too were bloody, which made sense since the blood seemed to be smeared all over his face. "Police brutality!"

"I didn't see anything, did any of you?" Cragen asked, looking around the room. Everyone shook their heads.

"We need to move her back to the ICU," Dr. Fisk said while looking pointedly at Cragen as if asking what he wanted to do.

Cragen nodded. "Elliot go with Olivia and Dr. Fisk. Munch, Fin, go wherever Morgan goes. Don't let him out of your sights."

"No problem, Cap," Fin said, giving Morgan a dirty look.

"Also, get the NYPD on the phone to prepare a cell and a transfer to their facility. Casey," he said turning to face her. "I need you to get started on the paper work."

"Will do," Casey responded as she looked over at Olivia.

"I need to find the status on the precinct, but I'll check in on you all when I'm done,' Cragen said to all of them while looking directly at Elliot. With a few last words, Elliot and Casey left the room as the nurse and Dr. Fisk prepared to transport Olivia back to the ICU. Together, the two of them and Elliot escorted Olivia's stretcher back to the ICU leaving Munch and Fin with Morgan. When they got there, Elliot stood idle as he watched the nurse hook Olivia up to a ventilator as Dr. Fisk monitored her stats.

"Is that really necessary?" Elliot asked with a catch in his voice. From past experience, being put on a ventilator is what happened when victims were on the brink of death. It meant they weren't able to control their own bodies, support their own lives, so machines had to do it for them. Only when they made it off the ventilator could hope arise.

Dr. Fisk looked at him sympathetically. "It'll probably be unnecessary once twenty-four hours are up, but it's necessary until we know for sure whether the overdose damaged her lungs." Elliot swallowed, but could only nod in response.

"Jenny, could you get a wet wash cloth for Detective Stabler, please?" Dr. Fisk said to the nurse. The nurse smiled and nodded as she did one last check on the connections of the ventilator before leaving the room.

"I've been a doctor for twenty years, here, Detective, and I've seen many things," Dr. Fisk said to him. She had left Olivia's side and now stood near him with a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I can shoot out my medical opinion based on the numerous textbooks that doctors have studied and memorized for generations, but I know sometimes things don't always play out like you think they will and I don't mean that in a bad way." She said as she applied a little pressure by pushing into his shoulder as she tried to get him to look at her.

"Medically, yes, she's very lucky to be alive with everything's she been through, but though I know her very little, I can tell wish ones are fighters." Elliot nodded but without reassurance.

"Hey," she commanded in the same brilliant way all doctors did when they wanted to make sure they got someone's attention. "I'm not one to give false hope. There's nothing sweet about death so why sugar coat it? Give her a little time and I think you'll see her walking out of this hospital. Just don't give up on her and I'm sure she won't give up on you." Jenny, the nurse, arrived a second later and handed Elliot the washcloth. Dr. Fisk glanced once again at Olivia's monitor and with a last look at Elliot as reminder for him to remember her words, she left the room.

Elliot slowly moved the damp cloth over his hands as he focused on removing the blood that had taken refuge in the creases of his skin. He rubbed the cloth harshly and deeply into his skin. The process was slow, for he remained meticulous in his actions. Despite having wanted to punch Morgan from the moment he first spoke Elliot got no satisfaction in beating the man up because he knew it wouldn't save Olivia.

10101010

Despite being ordered, prodded, and bribed to go home, Elliot never left Olivia's side. Most of the food they had tried to make him eat sat on Olivia's night table, rotting. He had only found the energy to eat an inch off the turkey sandwich that Casey had brought him before the mayo began to turn and the turkey began sprouting white hairs. He'd been there for three days, never wavering, and never giving up hope. She'd been taken off the ventilator just yesterday and they expected her to regain consciousness any day now. He wanted to be there when she woke up. Call it selfishness but he wanted to be the first thing she saw so that she'd know how much he cared, and maybe then she could forgive him.

Morgan had been released from the hospital ten hours after Elliot's beating and taken into custody immediately after. Morgan's lawyers had taken the effort to try and reopen the case of his mother's rape and the alleged rape of his nonexistent sister in order to point an incriminating finger at Olivia, but the judge wouldn't hear of it and Morgan's lawyers were now trying to compile a plea bargain, but Casey wasn't accepting anything less than life without bail, though at the least he deserved two life sentences. Meanwhile, Munch and Fin had been given the task of trying to figure out how Morgan managed to place all those bombs in the precinct without anyone knowing. Since Morgan wasn't talking, it meant going through hours of video surveillance from numerous cameras, starting from the time Morgan first walked into the precinct. They had had little luck so far.

Elliot brought himself out of his trance and turned to look at Olivia's face. He didn't expect to see her eyes open and staring right at him.

"Olivia," Elliot breathed enthusiastically.

"Elliot." Her voice was raspy from the lack of any liquid, but he didn't care. "You look like crap." Elliot would have laughed if he wasn't so afraid that she might slip away from him again. Her being awake now and talking to him, it seemed almost too good to be true. They sat in silence for a moment, neither of them able to say a word to the other. When neither of them could take it any longer they both found themselves speaking at the same time.

"Olivia…"

"Morgan?"

"He's in custody," Elliot reassured. Olivia nodded slightly before closing her eyes in what he guessed was relief. She didn't open them for awhile after and Elliot feared she may have fallen asleep until he gave one final attempt at whispering her name.

"Hmm?" She mumbled, her eyes still closed.

"Olivia, I…"

"It was not your fault, Elliot," Olivia stated, sounding more like herself after having swallowed repetitively to catch her words.

"But—"

"No," Olivia stated firmly. "Elliot if I thought you were psychic than yeah, I might have a beef with you, but you're not. You did what you could, and for that I thank you." Elliot nodded, but didn't feel as relieved. He guessed he would always in someway blame himself.

"You don't blame me," Elliot said. "That's your choice." Olivia looked ready to interrupt, but Elliot silenced her. "It's your choice, but I still blame me. You've been more than a partner to me. You've protected me and helped me in more ways than sometimes I feel I've done for you, but that's going to change. I can't stand seeing you here, Liv. If you would have died, I know I would have died with you." Elliot watched her eyes soften. She saw the torture in his eyes, the guilt, and all the pain he had suffered the last few days waiting for her.

"Elliot…"

"I love you, Olivia," Elliot rushed out. There was no look of surprise or horror, which he greatly appreciated. With relief he noticed the same look he knew he was giving her reflected in her eyes.

"That's ironic, Detective Stabler," Olivia said to his surprise. "Because I love you too." Elliot felt his smile widen greatly and she smiled back in return. Slowly, he bent down and brought his lips to hers. When they met, Elliot felt his heart beat faster and then relax as if their kiss was the most natural thing in the world. His stomach fluttered and a shiver of pleasure and excitement went down his back, almost simultaneously. Things were finally turning out the way they should.

10101010

3 Months Later

"Hey Liv, where's the Carson file?" Elliot asked as he swiveled around in his chair to look at his partner who was currently talking on the phone. She shot him an irritated look before covering up the mouthpiece.

"It's on your desk," she whispered back harshly.

"I don't see it," Elliot said pointedly.

"Did you look under the Pitney file?" Olivia asked forgetting to cover the phone this time. "No, I'm sorry, not you."

"Of course I looked under there, it's not here…" Elliot said as he lifted up the Pitney file to reveal the missing Carson file. Elliot tried to cover his surprise, but he couldn't hide it fast enough.

"Yes, thank you, you've been a big help," Olivia said as she hung up the phone. "Told you."

"I think you planted it there," Elliot said with a grin.

"Ha," Olivia said with a satisfied grin. "I don't need to plant anything. It's not my fault you can't find anything on that abominable thing you call a desk."

"I got an idea." Elliot stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders, so as not to seem too obvious to everyone in the office, though he was pretty sure they all knew, or at least had a hunch that the two of them were in a relationship. "How about you stay late with me one night and help me organize it?" His voice became low and playful as he spoke.

"Alright, you two get a room," Munch said coming up to them, interrupting Olivia's reply. Munch was soon followed by Fin and Casey.

"Verdict in?" Elliot demanded when he saw Casey. Casey nodded, but Elliot wasn't able to read anything from her face. He reached over and grabbed Olivia's hand.

"Guilty on all accounts. Fifty to life, I don't think we have anything to worry about. He'll be an old man before he's even considered for bail." Olivia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Casey," Olivia congratulated.

Casey shrugged. "He had no case and went to court against his lawyer's judgment. I just asked the questions."

"And the electric company has been notified?" Elliot asked. After numerous hours of analyzing video tape, Munch and Fin had discovered that Morgan had been working as an electrician. He had gained access to the precinct on what was described as a routine inspection. During court, Morgan further testified that he had disabled the power going to the security system and returned to the precinct the night before he turned himself into the precinct. At that time, he placed bombs in random offices before leaving the precinct and restoring power to the security system.

"Yep, they're in the process of reevaluating their employees."

"What goods that gonna do? The guy had a clean record," Fin pointed out.

"Their own fears I guess," Casey shrugged.

"No champagne, but no groans," Don Cragen said, appearing behind Olivia. "What's the verdict?"

"Guilty on all accounts," Elliot answered.

"Best news I've heard all day," Cragen smiled.

"How about we celebrate with Munch buying us lunch?" Fin suggested.

Munch looked at Fin in surprise. "Why me?"

"Because your coffee sucks."

"There's no logic in that whatsoever," Munch protested.

"Good, then I'm sounding like you," Fin replied with a wink at the rest of the group.

"It's alright, I'll pay," Olivia insisted. "After all, you guys really saved me back there. Take it as a small thanks."

Elliot squeezed Olivia's hand as the rest of the group smiled at her.

Fin looked up at Olivia. His tone was serious, but his eyes showed his brotherly love. "You know you don't even have to ask. Anytime, baby girl. Anytime."


End file.
